Role Reversal
by SeraphAngel
Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any. [AU after HP and the OotP came out]
1. Back at Hogwarts

Author's Note: I absolutely _love _Lily/James fics. I think I'm becoming obsessed. Ah, well. If I make any mistakes about facts or spelling and grammar or whatever, please don't hesitate to tell me. I don't usually push people to review, but I'd like to know what you think about this one. Also, if this idea has already been thought of and used, sorry. I'm not doing it on purpose; it's just a coincidence. Does anyone even read these?

P.S. I'm Asian and born and raised in America, so don't even ask about British expressions and stuff.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics_ = emphasis

-Back at Hogwarts-

The Hogwarts Express was on its way back to the school it was named for. Going back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after a summer of no magic was a relief to many students. To a certain sixth year Gryffindor girl, however, this meant another year stuck dealing with a certain group of rambunctious boys.

Lily Evans sat in a compartment with her friends and fellow sixth years, Sarah Johnson and Veronica Kent. They heard a muffled explosion coming from another compartment. Veronica rolled her eyes. "The Marauders are at it again."

Veronica was a tall, slender girl with long, dark brown, almost black hair that reached three-quarters of the way down her back. She had startling blue eyes. Lily was a pretty girl with long, straight, dark red hair. She was of average height for her age. Her best features were definitely her stunning emerald green eyes. Sarah was a little shorter than average, about two inches shorter than Lily. She had wavy, blond hair and warm brown eyes that weren't quite hazel.

The redhead of the group sighed. "They're going to come bursting in here right about... now," she predicted, just as four laughing boys ran into the compartment.

"Hey, how'd you know exactly when they would come in here, Lily?" asked Sarah.

"Years of practice."

The girls all laughed at that, then turned to look at the boys known as the Marauders. The boys looked slightly puzzled.

James Potter was a tall boy with black, rather unruly hair and large round glasses in front of his hazel eyes. Sirius Black, James's best friend, also had black hair. His, however, was a bit longer and not as messy as his friend's. Remus Lupin was the serious, brown-haired, brown-eyed one of the group. Peter Pettigrew, the chubby blonde boy, wasn't really liked by anyone. The other three boys only put up with him because they felt sorry for him. He was also involved in the Marauders' biggest secret.

Remus, always the sensible one, was able to stop laughing first and tell the girls about their latest prank. "We blew up Snape's trunk and his underwear flew everywhere..."

James finished for him by exclaiming, "Snape wears boxers with little hearts on them!" (AN: Yeah, I know that's been done before, but hey, it's funny!)

Peter added, "And he has a teddy bear!"

The girls burst out laughing.

Sarah, still giggling at the thought of Severus Snape in his heart boxers clutching a teddy bear, said, "Remind me... remind me to tease him about that later."

"Sure thing," Sirius replied, putting an arm around her.

Sarah, not missing a beat, stepped aside, causing Sirius to fall to the floor. He scrambled to his feet and exclaimed, "Hey! That wasn't nice!"

"Oh, really?" answered Sarah. She grinned. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"I'm gonna do... this!" he replied, pouncing on her. Sirius started tickling the girl, and they crashed into everyone and everything as Sarah attempted to escape from Sirius.

Lily jumped out of the way to avoid the pair and would have been perfectly fine, except the train gave a sudden lurch just then, causing her to lose her balance and fall. Her landing was surprisingly soft. A muffled voice from beneath her groaned and said, "Evans, would you please get off of me?"

"Oh!" Lily exclaimed. Veronica lent a hand and she got up as quickly as she could. "Sorry, Potter," she said, turning to face the boy she had landed on.

"You all right, Prongs?" asked a concerned Remus. Everyone knew that the Marauders had nicknames for each other, but they didn't know what they meant, so no one else referred to them by those names.

"A little bruised, but I'm fine," James replied. "Padfoot isn't."

Everyone turned to face Sarah and Sirius. Indeed, Sirius was not fine. The blond girl had managed to get on top of the boy and was pinning him down by placing her knee on his back.

"Sarah?" Sirius asked, wincing in pain.

"Hmm? What is it?" she replied sweetly.

"Well, see... The thing is..." he continued, embarrassed, "You're kind of... hurting me."

She gave a fake gasp then answered, "Really? I didn't know little old me could hurt big, strong Sirius Black." She giggled, then stood up and sat down in her seat.

"Oof," Sirius said as Sarah got up, "You're surprisingly strong."

"Thank you," Sarah replied, bowing to the applause of Lily, Veronica, James, and Remus. Peter was busy talking to the woman pushing the cart full of treats. Apparently, she had come in unnoticed by everyone else during the chaos.

"Anything off the cart?" she asked, smiling.

Peter was knocked out of the way as the others rushed forward to get some treats.

!!!

After the woman left and everyone had gotten what they wanted, Lily turned to the boys and asked, "Why are you four still here, anyway?"

The Marauders looked at each other.

"Well, Snape's bound to be after us to get revenge, so can we stay in here for a while?" Remus asked the girls.

Lily, Veronica, and Sarah gathered in a corner to discuss the matter in whispers. Sarah was pushing for the boys to stay. Lily and Veronica sighed. Sarah could be a bit ditzy at times, but she was really sweet and the best friend you could have. She also had the biggest crush on Sirius, which explained why she wanted the Marauders to stay.

The girls turned to find James and Sirius with pleading looks on their faces, Remus looking apologetic, and Peter ignoring the whole situation while stuffing his face with a pasty.

"Please?" asked the two black-haired boys at the same time, putting on their best sad puppy dog faces.

"Well, all right, you can stay," Veronica told the boys.

Lily added, while ripping open a package of Chocolate Frogs, "But if Snape and Malfoy find you in here, don't blame us."

Remus and James went to get all of their trunks. Sirius sat down next to Sarah, who smiled happily and engaged him in a conversation about broomsticks. Peter sat on Sirius's other side. Lily was across from him, and Veronica was across from Sarah.

!!!

When James and Remus came back lugging four very heavy trunks, they collapsed onto the floor of the compartment, exhausted. After a few minutes, they stood up and quickly noticed that there was a problem. There was only one seat left. Remus glanced at James, then quickly took the remaining seat next to Veronica. James groaned. He didn't really want to stand there for the rest of the ride. "What do I do? I can't just stand here."

"Well, Prongs, looks like you're gonna have to," replied Sirius. "Unless, of course, Miss Evans over there sits on your lap."

That, in fact, was true. None of the girls could handle James's weight (plus, it's kinda weird to have a boy sit on a girl's lap). Veronica would hit her head on the ceiling, and besides, she was much too proper to sit on anyone's lap. All the trunks were in front of Sarah, and James really didn't feel like moving anymore luggage just to sit down. Plus, even if he did somehow manage to get to Sarah, he wouldn't fit because Peter was so chubby that Sarah and Sirius were already feeling a bit squished.

James turned to Lily and put on his most charming smile.

"No way, Potter."

"Oh, come on, Ev... Lily."

"I said no."

"But I'm really tired."

"No!" The others watched, amused, as Lily continued to refuse James's pleas.

"Please?"

"No, no, no!" How many times do I have to say it before you get it through that thick skull of yours?"

"Come on... at least for a few minutes... my feet are killing me."

Lily shook her head vigorously.

"Lily! Please?" He put on a sad puppy face.

"No, no, and how about... no?"

"Please? I'm begging you," James said, getting down on his knees. That was hard for him to do, considering that there were several big, heavy trunks all over the compartment.

"Potter! I said no!" Lily yelled angrily.

"But..."

"No," she said, with a tone of finality in her voice.

James sighed. "Fine," he replied. He stood up and turned around to face Sarah, Sirius, and Peter. Lily, thinking he had given up, relaxed and looked out the window. Suddenly, two strong arms were wrapped around her waist, and she was lifted into the air. Then, she was seated again, but she was now on someone's lap.

"Potter! Just what do you think you're doing?" she shrieked.

"Sitting," James replied calmly.

Lily threw up her hands in exasperation. She elbowed her new "seat" in the stomach before crossing her arms and frowning. He responded by grinning, putting his arms around her waist, and pulling her closer to him so she wouldn't fall off his lap. Sarah giggled at the sight of her flustered friend.

!!!

Lily refused to talk to James and Sirius for the rest of the ride. She refused to talk to James for obvious reasons, and Sirius for suggesting the idea in the first place. She wished she had kept her wand with her instead of putting it in her trunk.

!!!

When the train finally stopped at Hogsmeade station, Lily ran as quickly as she could off the train and into a horseless carriage. Veronica and Sarah followed, chuckling at their friend's ridiculous behavior. When the three girls were seated in the carriage, the redhead gave a sigh of relief. "They can't follow us in _here._"

"Oh, come on, Lily," Sarah replied. "They're not _that_ bad."

"Well, Remus isn't, but Potter and Black certainly are."

Veronica said, "Lily, you're just being silly."

"I really don't see what the big deal is," Sarah put in.

"You're just saying that because you fancy a certain Mr. Black," Lily retorted.

Sarah blushed. "Well, um... Okay, I have nothing."

The two other girls laughed as the carriage started moving.

!!!

The Marauders and the three girls were seated at the Gryffindor House table in the Great Hall, waiting for the annual Sorting to begin. Lily sat next to Veronica, who was sitting next to Remus. Peter sat across from Lily, next to Sarah. Sarah was next to Sirius and across from Veronica. James sat on his best friend's right side. This arrangement worked fine for Lily, as she was the farthest one away from James.

Professor McGonagall read the names of the students to be sorted. Each nervous first year went up to the Sorting Hat and put it on, awaiting his or her fate.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The large, old hat shouted out the name of the house that the student wearing it was best suited for. The students in each house cheered and applauded as they welcomed a new student.

When the Sorting was over, the Sorting Hat and the stool it sat on were taken away and Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster, stood up.

"I would like to remind our new students... and some returning students," he said, pausing to cast a meaningful look upon the Marauders, "that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits. And now, enjoy your meal!"

Everyone dug into the delicious food that suddenly appeared on the plates. After everyone had eaten their fill (Sirius and Peter would have eaten more, but James and Remus pulled them away from the table), the prefects led the newcomers to their respective houses. For the Gryffindor first years, this meant following a bickering Lily and James the whole way up to Gryffindor Tower. The others had gone ahead with the other students.

"It wasn't my fault there weren't any seats left!"

"But you still didn't want to let me sit!"

"Oh, excuse _me_ if I didn't want _you_ to be my seat!"

"Look, there was a problem. I handled it."

"Well, you didn't have to handle it like _that._"

"What other way was there? Like Sirius said, that was the only way I could have gotten a seat."

"You could have moved to another compartment!"

"No, they were all _full!_" James yelled.

"We're here."

"What?"

"We're here!" Lily said, gesturing to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Password?" the Fat Lady called.

"Well, go ahead, Evans. What's the password?" James asked Lily expectantly.

"Don't you know?"

"Oh, no..."

"Don't tell me that we can't get in!"

"This is just not a good day."

The two prefects just stood there, racking their brains, trying to remember the password, while a whole bunch of first years waited impatiently behind them.

James was about to run to find someone to tell them the password when the portrait suddenly swung open. Sirius, Remus, and Veronica were standing just inside the portrait hole. Sarah and Peter had gone up to their dorm rooms already.

"Hey, Prongs," Sirius said, "we were just about to go find you. Thought you might've killed each other."

"We—"

Lily cut James off by saying, "We forgot the password so we've been standing here for a while."

"Oh, it's 'acrylic,'" Remus informed them as the first years crowded into the common room.

"Girls on the right, boys on the left," Veronica said to the new students as she pointed out the dorms.

"Finally," she heard one boy mutter.

Sarah came down the stairs then. "Hey, what happened?" she asked. "Where were you two?"

"They forgot the password and were stuck outside until we," Sirius explained, gesturing to himself, Remus and Veronica, "came to the rescue."

Sarah said, "Really?"

"Yes," Lily and James answered in unison. They looked at each other in disgust.

Lily stomped up the spiral staircase to her room.

James groaned and said, "I have a headache. Dealing with that girl for longer than ten seconds is enough to give anyone a migraine." He crossed the common room to the boys' dorms and slowly climbed the spiral staircase.

The others looked at each other and shrugged. They walked up to their rooms after their friends.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author's Note: Review and tell me what you think! Give me suggestions if you have any. Thank you for your time.


	2. Wanna Bet?

Author's Note: Well, I'm glad to see that I actually got some reviews. Within a few hours, too... Well, since this chapter was written right after I posted the first one, I'll just type it now.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics_ = emphasis

-Wanna Bet?-

The next morning (and afternoon), Lily and James avoided each other like the plague. Which was just fine with their friends, who didn't want them to fight anymore.

!!!

Everyone in the Great Hall was eating dinner peacefully. That is, until a shout was heard from the direction of the Slytherins. Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy were standing up, looking down at the pink dresses they now had on. They both also had curly blond hair. Malfoy didn't look as bad as Snape, since his hair was already that color in the first place. James and Sirius gave each other a high five as the two embarrassed Slytherins rushed out of the Great Hall to the safety of the dungeons (AN: Pff. How safe can dungeons be?). By now, nearly all the students who had witnessed the incident were laughing. The Marauders were definitely laughing the hardest.

Lily, however, looked unimpressed. Veronica noticed this and said, "Lily? What's up?"

"Nothing. I just don't see what's so impressive about that."

"Yeah, well, I'd like to see you do better, Evans," James retorted.

"I think I can."

"Wanna bet?"

"That sounds interesting. Why don't we make a bet?"

"Seriously?" James asked. "No pun intended," he said to Sirius.

His friend just grinned.

Lily replied, "Yeah, a real bet."

"All right. Let's talk. After dinner."

"Fine."

!!!

"So what are we betting?" James asked. James and Lily were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, in the two best armchairs, which would have been near the fire if there had been one. There wasn't, since the weather was still quite warm. They were sitting away from everyone else so no one would overhear what they were saying.

"Money?"

"Let's decide that later. Right now, we need to decide the rules of the game."

"Okay, I bet that you can't pull off at least one prank a day for a month," James said. "And…" He paused for a moment to think of some way to make the bet more interesting. "And four of those pranks have to be big enough to be witnessed or heard about by the majority of the students."

"Hmm... okay," the redhead replied. "Then I bet you that you can't pull _any_ pranks for a month. _Not one_."

"Ooh. That's gonna be hard. But okay."

"Right. So what are we betting?"

"How about... whoever loses their bet has to be the winner's slave for a month?"

"Fine. But the slave cannot be forced to do homework or something dangerous or against the rules."

"All right."

"Wait. What if we both lose?" Lily asked.

"If we both lose, you will be Sirius and Remus's slave, and I'll be Sarah and Veronica's. And we both do something to the Slytherins. Just for fun."

"Let's recap. If you pull a prank from tomorrow to October second, then you will be my slave. If I fail to do at least one per day from now until October second, then I'll be your slave."

"Don't forget that four of those have to be well-known."

"I know. Anyway, about the other parts of the bet. If we both fail, then our friends get to boss us around."

"Right."

"We have to tell them about this bet, don't we?"

"Yes, we do."

Lily grinned. "You'd better start working out, Potter. You're going to be carrying my books to class for a month."

"I don't think so, Evans."

The two shook hands and the bet was made.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author's Note: So what'd you think? Good? Bad? Confusing? Hehe.


	3. Getting Off to a Good Start

Author's Note: Glad to see you like my story. Um... Well, here's chapter 3 then.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics_ = emphasis

-Getting Off to a Good Start-

"You what?!"

Lily had just finished explaining the bet to her friends. Veronica just stared. Sarah was the one who had exclaimed.

Sarah asked, "But what if you lose? Then you have to do whatever he says for a _month_. A _month_. That's over _four_ weeks. _Thirty days_. I'm not sure you can handle it."

Lily replied, "I won't lose. _He'll_ be the one doing what I say for a month."

The shorter girl grinned. "Well, if you _both_ lose, at least I won't have to carry my stuff for a while."

!!!

"But what if you both lose?"

"Well, Moony, if we both lose, I'm Sarah and Veronica's slave and she's yours and Sirius's," James explained.

"Hey, thanks for thinking of me, mate," Sirius said from across the room.

"No problem."

!!!

The next morning, Lily had finished getting ready and was about to head downstairs when she heard a yell coming from the boys' dorms.

She turned around to face the two confused girls behind her. "I believe Mr. Potter has discovered my first prank."

!!!

"EVANS!" James roared as he came downstairs.

"Yes?" Lily answered, also entering the common room.

"What did you do?" James was soaking wet and his hair, clothes, and pretty much the rest of him was bright green.

"I'm just trying to win a bet," Lily said innocently.

"I'm wet and I'm _green_!"

"You never said that I couldn't do anything to you," Lily said, smiling sweetly. "Besides, I think you look good in green," she put in, trying to hold back her laughter.

James gritted his teeth. "Just... never mind."

"All right, fine, Potter. I won't pull any other pranks on you. Except maybe one... And the dye will wash out."

James just rolled his eyes and turned around to go to his room to change. Just his luck, however, the two other sixth year Gryffindor girls came downstairs at that very moment.

Sarah started giggling uncontrollably. Veronica put a hand to her mouth to try to hide her smile.

"Lily, did you do that?"

"Yep."

"Genius."

"Yeah, I seem to be getting off to a good start."

Sarah, still laughing, said, "Green…"

The now green-haired boy said, "Oh, shut up," and trudged up to his room to get back to normal.

!!!

When he entered the dorm room, Sirius asked, "What happened to you?"

"Nothing," James replied, grabbing some clean robes and going into the bathroom.

Sirius, Peter, and Remus burst out laughing.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author's Note: A little short, but whatever. Um... review?


	4. Week 1

Author's Note: Here's chapter 4! I think I'm running out of ideas. If anyone can suggest a good prank, thank you very much.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics_ = emphasis

_italics_ = thoughts

-Week #1-

Lily's part of the bet was going pretty well. You might even say it was going swimmingly. She had successfully played one prank every day for a week.

Her first one was, of course, turning James green.

The day after that, she changed Lucius Malfoy's Transfiguration book into a doll. Professor McGonagall was not amused, to say the least. She asked the Slytherin to put his toy away until after class. His cheeks were burning red with embarrassment for the rest of class, and he didn't even have his book to do his work.

On Wednesday, she remembered what had happened on the Hogwarts Express and made Snape's robes transparent during Charms class. His heart boxers were clearly visible. Since the students were practicing making things invisible that day, Professor Flitwick dismissed it as an accident and changed the greasy-haired boy's clothes back to normal. That incident was soon heard about by just about every student in the school. That was just great for Lily, but not so fun for Snape.

Thursday, she made it so that every time Snape and Malfoy spoke to a teacher, they began with the words, "I pledge allegiance to my underwear." That one was also spoken about throughout the school.

On Friday, she decided to move away from the pranks on Slytherins and set off a Dungbomb in the Gryffindor boys' dormitories. The boys ran out of their rooms coughing and gasping.

On Saturday, she played a prank on a few Ravenclaws that were especially snobby. Whenever they tried to eat or drink, they would spill something on their robes.

Sunday night, she turned Snape's teddy bear into a kind of half-bear, half-toad creature. It also walked around and said "I love you" repeatedly to Snape. Lily heard him screaming in the dungeons all the way from the Gryffindor common room.

Lily had been careful to make it hard for someone she played a prank on to find out who did it. She didn't want to get in trouble just because of a bet.

!!!

James, however, was having a much harder time with his part of the bet. Every time he saw a prank opportunity, he remembered the bet and tried to restrain himself.

Sirius, Remus, and Peter didn't feel like playing tricks on people without their fellow Marauder. This was a huge relief to several people (especially teachers).

Sirius was spending more time with Sarah, which she was enjoying, of course. Peter was spending more time sneaking off to the kitchens. Remus, with no friends left to hang out with, got to know Veronica—that is, whenever he wasn't trying to stop James from losing the bet.

Since he couldn't pull any pranks, James watched Lily do hers everyday.

_I gotta admit—she's pretty good,_ he thought, as he heard Snape's shriek of horror that Sunday.

"So," he said aloud, "What are you planning for your next trick?"

"I don't know yet," Lily replied. "I was thinking about doing something to a Hufflepuff, but I'm not sure. What about you? Been able to resist playing pranks on people?"

"Well, yeah, of course," the dark-haired boy replied truthfully but nervously. He was thinking of the many occasions during the past week when the other Marauders had to hold him back—sometimes literally—when he forgot about the bet and headed off to set up a prank.

The red-haired girl chuckled at the expression on James's face. "Oh, come off it, James. I cannot believe that."

"Yeah, you're right. It hasn't been _that_ easy," he answered. Then something occurred to him. "You know, I think that's the first time you've called me by my first name."

"Huh. You know what? It is."

James grinned. He opened his mouth to say something, but Lily stopped him.

"Don't say it."

"But—"

"Don't!"

"I—"

"I don't want to hear it."

"Fine." He got up on the pretense of going to bed, then turned around and quickly whispered in Lily's ear, "But you know you have a soft spot for me." He walked up the spiral staircase to the sixth year boys' dorm without looking back at the green-eyed girl.

Lily just sat there for a few minutes, staring at nothing in particular. Then she got up and walked to her room.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author's Note: Um... Tada?


	5. Caught in the Act

Author's Note: This is probably my most quickly updated fanfic…

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics_ = emphasis

_italics_ = thoughts

-Caught in the Act-

Lily had decided to keep a closer eye on James. He might be more tempted to play a prank the longer he wasn't allowed to. If he did and she didn't find out, that would mean that he would win his part of the bet. _I'm not going to have _that _happen anytime soon._

James had become increasingly bored—and boring—to the Marauders, anyway—since the start of the bet. He kept watching Lily all the time to see what she was going to do next, and then wishing he could do that stuff.

_She never gets caught,_ he observed as he witnessed the redhead's prank of the day. _Sirius, Remus, Peter and I usually get caught. Of course, that's half the fun. Besides, Sirius is trying to break the school detention record. _It was Monday, and Lily had just put a magical "Kick Me" sign on a Slytherin girl's back on her way to Gryffindor Tower after lunch. Anyone who saw the sign gave the girl a kick whether or not they wanted to. It didn't hurt too much, but the girl got fed up and tried to take off the sign when someone pointed it out to her, only to discover that it wouldn't come off. When she went to change her robes later, she would find that all of her clothes had the same signs on them.

_She makes sure that whatever she does doesn't really hurt anyone. Her tricks are temporary. Hmm… _

That _was_ true, even though Snape's mutant stuffed animal was still following him around. Lily had decided to make it a three-day spell.

Lily noticed James staring at her and said, "Potter, what do you want? Is there a 'Kick Me' sign on my back too?"

He snapped out of his "observing mode" and answered, "No. I was just watching your technique."

"Oh. Why?"

"Well, since I can't pull any pranks of my own…"

"Ah. I see."

"Yeah."

"You're actually pretty good at this, Evans." _Whoa, there's a sentence I never thought I'd say_, James thought.

"Thanks. I didn't think you could go one day without pulling a prank, but you've proved me wrong."

"Hey! I _did_ go one day without pulling a prank… once… I think…"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Where are the others? I thought you Marauders were stuck together tighter than glue."

"Actually, where _are_ they? I don't know what happened to them. They've been doing other stuff since this bet started. Last I heard, Sirius was with Sarah, Remus was with Veronica, and Peter was going to the kitchens."

"Oh."

"Yep."

The two reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Password?" she inquired.

"Acrylic."

They climbed inside to find an empty common room. Well, nearly empty. Sarah and Sirius were there—and they were kissing!

Lily put a hand over her mouth to keep herself from giggling. James took off his glasses to clean them, then put them back on to see if he was seeing right.

James whispered, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Lily nodded. "On the count of three. One, two, three."

"Ahem!" they both said loudly.

Sarah jumped a foot in the air and Sirius turned to look at the intruders. He groaned when he found out who they were.

"So… _This_ is what you've been up to, Padfoot," James said. "Tsk, tsk. In such a public area too."

Peter chose that moment to come in. "What's going on?" he asked. He was loaded down with food from his visit to the kitchens after lunch.

"Nothing, Wormtail. Say, is that cake?" Sirius went over to Peter and "helped" him eat the food.

"Nice save, Padfoot," James said, rolling his eyes.

Lily looked at Sarah, who was trying to get out of the common room. "We have to talk. Later," she said, looking at her watch, "Right now, we have to get to class."

!!!

Sarah walked—well, ran—into Potions class and sat down next to Veronica to avoid Lily. She almost knocked her chair over in her rush. Sirius sat behind her, next to Remus. Peter was next to the Slytherin girl with the sign on her back—he gave her a kick before sitting down. Lily and James came in last and had to sit together at the last available desk behind Peter and the Slytherin.

Lily wrote something on a piece of parchment. She passed it to Peter and whispered, "It's for Sarah." Peter passed the note to Remus, who passed it to Veronica, who handed it to Sarah.

Sarah unfolded the message under her desk. It had nine words on it: "We are going to have a _long_ talk tonight."

The blonde slipped the note into her bag before Professor Brewer (AN: He's in another of my fanfics that I'm working on right now. Do you get why I put Brewer? Potions, brews. You know? Okay, lame, but it works.) could see it. Veronica gave her a questioning look before opening her Potions book to, of all things, Veritaserum, the truth potion.

!!!

"Black? Sirius Black?" Lily said. She was standing in the sixth year girls' dormitory with her hands on her hips, facing Sarah.

Sarah, who was sitting cross-legged on her bed, sighed. "Oh, come on, Lily. You _know_ I like him."

"But… Black? Sirius Black?"

Veronica was sitting on her bed, watching Lily and Sarah's discussion. "What's going on?"

"Miss Johnson here was caught kissing Mr. Black today," Lily informed her.

"Oh. Is that all?" Veronica said mildly.

"Is that _all_? He's a _Marauder._"

"Lily, I think you're being silly again."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry, Sarah. I was just surprised. I mean, I knew you liked him, but I didn't expect to see… _that_."

"Okay," Sarah replied. "But you're one to talk," she continued. "I mean, you're the one who's hanging out with a Marauder by the name of _James Potter._"

Lily exploded. "What?! I am not 'hanging out' with him. We just have to see who's winning the bet, that's all. And _I'm_ only stuck with Potter because _you're _swapping spit with Black!"

"Lily, calm down," Veronica said. "And I know we haven't been hanging out as much, but we don't want to be your next prank victims. Because of this bet, you're spending all your time plotting one trick after another." She turned to Sarah. "You were _kissing_ Sirius Black?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes," Sarah answered in a small voice.

Veronica said thoughtfully, "Well, I suppose that was to be expected. I mean after all the flirting you did on the Hogwarts Express…"

"Hey!" Sarah exclaimed, indignant.

Lily and Veronica laughed.

"And speaking of flirting," Sarah said, with a wicked grin on her face, "Lily flirts with James all the time." She ran into the bathroom and locked the door.

Veronica had to hold Lily back as she lunged in her friend's direction. "I'll break down the door!" the redhead screamed.

!!!

Meanwhile, the boys were having a similar conversation over in their dorm.

"You were kissing Sarah Johnson?"

"Yes, Wormtail."

"So, are you going to get tired of her after a week or two, or do you think she'll be around for a while?" Remus asked.

Sirius sat down on his bed. "I'd have to say the latter. I like Sarah. A lot. More than any other girl I know."

"Oh, is Padfoot going soft?" James teased.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You're one to talk, Prongs. You know you have a thing for Lily Evans."

James resisted the urge to throttle his best friend and said, "I do _not_ have a _thing_ for her. You guys haven't done any pranks lately and since I can't do them myself, watching them is the next best thing."

Peter put in, "But what about what happened on the train on our first day back?"

Sirius grinned. "Yeah… Prongs, you looked a little _too_ comfortable with Lily on your lap."

"Hey, I just did that to annoy her, okay?"

"Sure, mate. Sure."

"Shut up."

"You know you like her, James. Don't deny it."

"Moony, what's going on with you?" James asked, turning to Remus.

Sirius exclaimed, "Stop trying to change the subject! Just admit it and I'll leave you alone."

"I'm not admitting anything because there's nothing to admit. And Remus? Uh, you're just staring off into space there. What's up?"

"Nothing," Remus replied. "Nothing at all."

"Uh-huh. Come on, I know when you're lying. Oh, wait. Would this 'nothing' have something to do with Miss Veronica Kent?"

Remus blushed. "No," he said unconvincingly.

"Ooh… Looks like Moony has a crush," Sirius teased.

"Goodnight," Remus said, pulling his covers over him.

"I'm just kidding."

"_Goodnight._"

"Fine. Night."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Okay, this chapter had a lot of Misses and Misters in it and full names were used so much… Oh, well. Anyway, um… yeah.


	6. Week 2

Author's Note: Hi! Um… since you guys seem to like this story, I guess I'll type this chapter up now.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics_= thoughts

_italics_ = emphasis

-Week #2-

On Tuesday, September 11, Lily pulled a prank on a Hufflepuff. All her words came out completely scrambled unless she was talking to a teacher—after all, Lily didn't want to ruin the girl for life.

Wednesday, she gave Peter a piece of cake. He took a bite of it, then promptly spit it out. Lily had made it taste like paint mixed with grass (she apologized to him afterwards).

Thursday, she blew up a crystal ball in Divination—apparently, Professor Graves wasn't as good a fortune-teller as she thought she was.

On Friday, the green-eyed girl decided to do something else to Snape and Malfoy. Malfoy's robes now flashed the words "I play with my sister's dolls." Snape's said "I hug my teddy bear every night," (which was actually true).

On Saturday, Lily did something to James's glasses. All he could see now was a blurry rainbow. He tried to change them back, but only succeeded in adding a pot of gold to the image. After two hours of staring at the colorful picture, he decided to take off his glasses, because he was getting a headache. He stumbled around half-blind for the rest of the day—much to everyone's amusement.

Sunday, a Gryffindor second year was the victim of Lily's daily prank. The twelve-year-old saluted to everyone he encountered that day.

!!!

Lucius Malfoy had gotten on James's nerves that week. The Gryffindor had been all set to turn the Slytherin into a rabbit, when he remembered the wager he had made with Lily.

Now, he was entering the common room, cursing under his breath. "Darn bet. I must have been crazy when I agreed to it."

"Talking to yourself now, Potter?"

James whirled around to face—who else?—Lily.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello," he replied dully.

"What's wrong with you? You sound like someone just told you your pet fish died."

James was puzzled. "I don't have a fish," he said.

Lily sighed. "It's an expression."

"Oh. Still, nothing's wrong. I just miss playing pranks on people."

"Well, you can always give up and let me win the bet."

"No way, Evans."

"Well, it was worth a shot."

James smiled. _Wow, I never noticed before. He has a great smile,_ Lily thought. _Wait, what am I thinking?_

_You're thinking he looks nice when he smiles._

_Shut up!_ she told herself. _This is _Potter _we're talking about._

_Well, technically, it's thinking, not talking—_

_I thought I told you to shut up!_

_But I'm you, remember?_

"Oh, say, would you happen to know if Veronica likes anyone?" James asked.

"Why?"

"I'm asking for a friend."

"Would that friend's name happen to be Remus Lupin?"

"As a matter of fact, it is."

"Yeah, Veronica likes Remus."

"Great! Moony likes her too."

"Should we tell them?"

"I don't know."

"I think it's safe. I mean, since they both like each other…"

"Okay."

"Well, I'm getting tired. Goodnight, Potter."

"Night, Evans." He nodded to the saluting boy, then headed upstairs.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: This chapter's pretty short, so I'm going to post chapter 7 along with it.


	7. Finding Comfort

Author's Note: Right. Um, this chapter is kinda mushy… Er… whatever.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics_= emphasis

_italics_= thoughts

-Finding Comfort-

Lily woke up in a cold sweat. _That dream. It seemed so real._

She got out of bed and headed down to the common room, taking her covers with her. It was the middle of the night. She wanted to be somewhere where she could think in peace.

Lily settled herself on a couch in front of the fire. _I don't think I'm ever going to get back to sleep after a dream like _that.

_Why did it feel so real? And why can't I remember it? Let's see. I know I was there… and someone else too. Someone I know. We were older… There was a baby. A baby that looked like the other person, but he had my eyes. _My _eyes?__ Was it _my_ child? And there was someone else… someone evil. A flash of light, and—_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a crash. She turned and saw James Potter coming—falling, actually—down the stairs. He got up and brushed himself off when he got to the bottom. He looked up and was surprised to see a pair of green eyes looking at him.

"Evans, what are you doing down here?"

"Why are _you_ here?"

"I asked you first."

Lily sighed. "Fine. If you must know, I had a bad dream and now I can't get back to sleep. Now, why are _you_ here?"

"I can't sleep either. I was just coming down here so I wouldn't wake everyone else up."

"Well, after _that_," Lily replied, gesturing to the broken vase at the bottom of the stairs, "I'm surprised you haven't woken up the entire castle."

James grinned sheepishly and moved closer to her and the fire. "Do you mind sharing the couch?"

Lily scooted over a little so James would have enough room to sit. "Here," she said, handing him a blanket, "It's cold."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"You had a bad dream?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to tell me about it? You don't have to. I was just wondering."

"It's okay. I'll tell you." Lily then proceeded to tell James what she could remember of her dream.

!!!

(AN: WARNING! MUSHINESS AHEAD! Read on at your own risk!)

"And then he came… and—"

"And what?"

"I don't know. I can't remember." Lily gasped. "Wait, I remember now. I… I died."

"You died?"

Lily nodded.

"What happened to the baby?"

"He was still alive when I was killed. I have a feeling he _stayed_ alive." She stopped talking and looked down.

James could tell that she was really upset about this. "Hey, come here," he said. He pulled her to him and whispered, "It's okay, Lily. It's just a dream."

"I think it's more than that. I think it really _is_ going to happen."

"Well, you said you were older. So maybe when the time comes, you'll be ready for it."

"Thanks," Lily said, managing a small grin.

"You're welcome. Now, come on, you need some sleep."

"I'm afraid to go to sleep."

"Come on, Lily. It's okay, I'm here." He started stroking her hair.

"That's not very reassuring."

"Very funny. Just go to sleep."

"Okay. I _am_ kind of tired."

"Shh… Close your eyes."

Lily followed his instructions and was fast asleep in a matter of minutes. James smiled down at her. _She's even prettier when she's asleep than when she is awake. Wait. What? Did I just think that? About Lily Evans? I think I'm in _major_ need of some sleep._

He pulled the covers over Lily and himself. _Yeah, that's it, _James thought. _I just need to get some shuteye. _Wrapping his arms around the girl's waist, he closed his eyes and soon fell into a peaceful slumber.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: I told you it was gonna be kinda mushy. You can't say I didn't warn you, because I did. I even used the word "warning." Hehe. Don't ask about why Lily and James are in the common room when they have to go to school in the morning. You'll find out what happens in the next chapter. Er… Toodles?


	8. Change of Heart aka Insanity

Author's Note: Okay, this chapter is… I don't know, I haven't written it yet and I just type whatever comes to mind.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics _= emphasis

_italics _= thoughts

-Change of Heart a.k.a. Insanity-

A few hours later (because they had fallen asleep at midnight) at about five o'clock, Lily woke up. She didn't open her eyes yet. _I don't want to get up._

_Too bad. You have to._

_No, I don't._

_Yes, you do._

_This is payback for my telling you to shut up before, isn't it?_

_You got it._

Lily felt something warm beneath her. It was breathing. _Okay, this is definitely _not _my pillow. Time to wake up, Lily._ She opened her eyes, and when she saw James, the memory of her horrible dream came back to her. She groaned and put her head back down onto James's chest.

The redhead suddenly noticed something. _Cow pajamas?_ The sixteen-year-old boy was wearing white pajamas with large black spots, resembling the markings of a cow. _That's so cute! Cow pajamas…_

Lily absentmindedly (and very, very sleepily) traced patterns on James's chest as she thought about her dream and the conversation she had had with James. The boy soon noticed that he was being drawn on and opened his eyes. "Stop it, Evans. That tickles."

Lily jumped in surprise. "Sorry," she said, blushing. James grinned.

"One thing," she continued, "Er, cow pajamas?"

Now it was James's turn to blush. In those pajamas, he looked like a sunburned cow. (AN: Do cows get sunburn?)

"Um… er… It was cold last night and these are my warmest ones."

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. But you _do _realize that I can blackmail you now."

James just stared. Lily giggled, then stood up and gathered her blankets together. "I'm going to go see what time it is," she stated. "See ya, Potter."

!!!

Lily looked at her clock. 5:15. It would be a while before everyone else woke up.

She looked at her friends. Sarah was dead to the world. She was sound asleep and clutching her favorite stuffed animal, a lion. She had gotten it years ago as a gift for getting into Gryffindor, and now it was her favorite. Her hair was all tangled and her pajamas were wrinkled.

Veronica didn't look quite as rumpled as Sarah. Her hair wasn't even messy. She was lying on her side.

_I have to tell her that Remus likes her, _Lily thought. _I hope they get together. That would be great._

Lily laid back and let her mind wander. She didn't think about anything in particular. _I hope I never have a dream like that again. Did I finish my History of Magic essay? What prank should I pull next? Does James like me? I wonder where Peter keeps running off to. Is… Wait. Back up. _Does James like me?_ Where'd that come from? _

_It came from over here. _

_Oh no. You again? And why did I use the name James instead of Potter?_

_Because you know he's not as bad as you say he is. _

_Go away._

_I can't. I'm you. _

_Then leave me alone._

_Also impossible. _

_I just realized that if this were an actual conversation I was having with myself out loud, people would think I was crazy. _

_Maybe you are._

_Aah! Will you just let me be?_

_Fine. But I'll be back. You can count on it._

Lily rolled over and screamed into her pillow.

!!!

_I'm insane. That's it. I'm only thinking about Evans because I'm insane. _

_Oh, who are you kidding, James? You know it's more than that. I mean, you may be insane, but that's not why you can't stop thinking about her._

_Oh, what do you know?_

_Everything you do. I'm you._

_I'm having a conversation with… myself…_

_Yep._

James groaned. _I'm insane and talking—_

_Thinking._

_—_thinking_ to myself. _

_Haha. _

_Stop it!_

_But I can't stop it. _You're _the one who's thinking it._

He went upstairs to his dorm and tried to concentrate on a book about Quidditch until his friends woke up.

!!!

Sarah woke up to find one of her friends mumbling incoherently with her face buried in a pillow. She saw the other one getting dressed.

"Don't ask," Veronica said. "She was like that when I got up."

"Ah." The shorter girl got out of bed and walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

!!!

Sirius pulled open the hangings of James's bed and demanded, "Where were _you_ last night, young man?"

"What are you talking about?" James asked groggily. He had fallen back asleep after reading about five pages of his book.

"Well, I woke up at around two o'clock to go to the bathroom, and I noticed that you weren't there. So where were you?"

"I couldn't sleep and I was hungry, so I went down to the kitchens."

"No, you didn't."

"How do you know?"

"Because you always take your Invisibility Cloak with you when you leave at night, and it was still in here. I checked."

James was slightly astonished at the effort Sirius had put into worrying about him. "I wasn't anywhere. I just—"

Remus interjected, "We have to get to breakfast. I'm hungry."

"Me too," said Peter.

_Thank you, Moony, _James thought silently.

As the four boys walked down the stairs, Sirius said, "Come on, Prongs. I'm your best friend. You can tell me."

"Sorry, Padfoot. There's nothing to tell."

"Jimmy, I know there must be _something._"

"There's nothing, and don't call me Jimmy."

!!!

Veronica and Sarah had to drag their friend down to breakfast. She kicked and screamed the whole way.

"I… told you… I'm not… hungry!" Lily said as she struggled against her friends' grasps.

"Lily, you have to—ow!—eat something!" Sarah said as the green-eyed girl kicked her.

"Sarah's right. You didn't eat anything last night and you look worn out," the other girl informed Lily, dodging a kick.

"But I don't want to!" _Besides, James might be there, and I really don't feel like seeing him right now. Oh, God. There I go using his first name again! What's wrong with me? _"Let go of me!"

"No!"

The trio had reached the Great Hall. Veronica used her foot to push the door open, and they pulled Lily over to the Gryffindor table. Sarah forced Lily to sit, then turned around to find a lot of stunned faces. "What? Mind your own business. Eat your food." She and Veronica seated themselves on either side of Lily, who just looked down at her plate.

The Marauders entered and sat down across from the girls. "What's wrong with Lily?" Remus asked.

"We don't know," the dark-haired girl replied.

"She won't tell us anything," the blonde added.

Sirius looked puzzled, Remus and James looked concerned, and Peter just started shoveling food into his mouth.

The sixth years, with the exception of Lily, all started eating. "Lily," Sarah said in a warning tone.

The redhead sighed, then slowly started to consume the food on the plate in front of her.

_What's the matter with her? _James thought. _I hope that dream she had isn't what's bothering her. _

Lily didn't look at James all throughout the meal. In fact, the only time she did look up was when an explosion was heard from the Hufflepuff table. A girl's waffles had exploded on her. "Mine," Lily said quietly, declaring that she had done her prank for the day.

When the meal was over, the three girls walked to Charms class together. Lily was quiet the whole way there.

!!!

James sat in the back of the classroom next to Remus. Professor Flitwick was explaining something or other. James wasn't paying attention because he had already learned how to perform that spell. Instead, he was watching Lily, who was being uncharacteristically quiet. Charms was her favorite class, and she always participated. Today, however, she sat there like a lump, only moving to turn a page in her book or swish her wand when she was directed to.

_Something's bothering her, and I'm going to find out what it is._

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Insane, no? Haha. I like the parts where they're arguing with themselves. Yes, Lily's being very out of character. I have a reason. It's something I didn't write in the story yet. You'll find out later. Adds an element of mystery, I think. Also, tell me which title you like better, Change of Heart or Insanity or just leave it there with both.


	9. Week 3

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! Er… Oh yeah! I decided to shift the focus away from Lily and James. It's more about the others (except Peter, the jerk). And you'll find out what's wrong with Lily in the next chapter or two.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics _= emphasis

_italics _= thoughts

-Week #3-

On Tuesday, September 18, Lily pulled another prank on our two favorite (or rather, least favorite) Slytherins, Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy. Their robes flashed bright yellow, blue, and pink when teachers weren't looking.

!!!

"Veronica?" Lily asked in the girls' dorm after lunch.

"Yeah?"

"Come here." She whispered in Veronica's ear, "Remus likes you."

"You're joking."

"No, I'm not," Lily replied, smiling.

"It's true? You're not trying to trick me, are you?" Veronica asked in a suspicious tone.

"Veronica!" Lily said exasperatedly. "I'm your friend. I wouldn't joke about something like this."

"Okay, okay. Oh, this is so great!"

"Yeah."

"How do you know that he does, anyway?"

"Um… James… told me."

"Oh. Thank you so much, Lily!"

!!!

"Moony."

"What is it, Prongs?"

"Veronica likes you."

"Er… what?"

"She does."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You're _sure._"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"Thanks for telling me."

"You're welcome."

"How did you find out that she likes me?"

"Li… Evans told me."

"Ah."

!!!

The day after that, she tricked the trickster named Peeves. The poltergeist had been about to bother a group of first years when suddenly he saw an image of the Bloody Baron. Lily had conjured an image of the Slytherin ghost. It said, "Peeves… I'm going to get you…"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Peeves flew around the castle screaming as Lily's fake Bloody Baron chased him. That was the third of her four pranks that had to be well known.

On Thursday, she altered a Ravenclaw's books. Every book looked like a different subject's book (AN: Charms book looks like Transfiguration, Transfiguration looks like Potions, etc.).

!!!

Remus was sitting with Veronica in the common room before dinner, away from everyone else. They were the farthest from the fireplace.

"Hey, Veronica?"

"Yes?" She smiled at him.

He faltered upon seeing her stunning smile, then remembered what he was going to ask her.

"Um… We've known each other for a while, haven't we?"

"Since our first year."

"That's five years, right?"

Somewhat amused, Veronica replied, "Yes, it is. What are you trying to say, Remus?"

"Oh. Well, I was wondering… I was thinking… What I want to say is…"

"Remus! Just spit it out, will you?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"What?" Veronica looked shocked. "You… you want _me_ to be your girlfriend?"

"Well, yeah. I've liked you for a long time and…" Remus blushed.

"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend, Remus."

"Okay. Great. Uh… What do we do now?"

!!!

Lily made a Hufflepuff third year bow to everyone he saw on Friday. Needless to say, a lot of people were confused but amused.

Saturday morning, Lily got out of bed early to play a prank on Sirius.

!!!

"Aaaah!" Sirius had woken up to find that his hair was purple, his skin was blue, and his eyes were pink.

James sat up when he heard his friend's scream. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes then put on his glasses. He started snickering when he saw what had happened to Sirius. Remus and Peter did the same.

"You look like a rainbow."

"Shut up, Wormtail."

"Looks like Evans got you good."

"Prongs! That's not the issue here! What am I going to do about this?" Sirius ran downstairs to find Lily.

!!!

"Lily Evans! Where are you?" a very angry-looking Sirius Black yelled, storming down the stairs.

"Right here," she called from the other side of the common room.

"Did you do this?"

"I thought you needed a new look."

"Lily!"

"I have a bet to win, Black."

"But why'd you have to pick me?"

"I really don't know. I just thought it'd be funny," she said, giggling.

"Change me back!"

"Hmm… I don't think I will."

"What?!"

"Well, I just don't see any reason to."

"You don't see any reason to?! Look at me! I'm a multicolored freak!"

"That you are."

Sirius growled as Peter and Remus came down the stairs, followed by James. Lily noticed James and quickly averted her gaze. She turned around and ran to her own room.

"What was that about?" Peter asked.

"I'm not sure," Remus said.

"And I'm still different colors!" That, of course, was Sirius.

James didn't say anything, but stared at the spot where Lily had been just a few moments before. _It's me. Whatever's bothering her has something to do with me. She hasn't spoken to me or looked at me in almost a week. _

!!!

Sarah stifled a laugh as she tried to help Sirius change back to his regular color. "You look funny."

"Blame your friend," Sirius said, not smiling.

"Oh, come on," Sarah said. "You know she has a bet going on with James."

"She's probably got something else going on with him too," Sirius muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Sarah leaned back to get a better look. "Well, this is the best I can do. Your eyes are normal, but your hair still has streaks of purple and your skin still looks bluish."

"She's thorough, isn't she?"

"Yep."

"Hey, Sarah?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you wanna, er… go steady?"

"Sure."

_Well, that was simple. _"Okay," Sirius replied.

"You _still_ look funny."

"You know what? Forget I asked you anything."

"No! I was just kidding."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So was I. I think."

"You think? That's a first." Sarah giggled.

Indignant, Sirius said loudly, "Hey! I've thought before."

"I wouldn't have guessed."

"Some girlfriend you are," Sirius said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Oh, you know you love me."

"Let's not get carried away here."

"Shut up and kiss me."

"I can do that."

!!!

A rain cloud followed a Gryffindor first year around on Sunday. He was the only one who got wet (meaning the floor and other people did not get wet).

The Marauders were sitting in the common room with Sarah and Veronica after lunch. Sarah was sitting on Sirius's lap. Remus had his arm around Veronica. Peter got up and started doing jumping jacks (he wanted to lose the weight he had gained recently). James sat in an armchair drumming his fingers. He looked like he was pondering something.

"Where's Lily?" he asked the girls.

"She's up in our room," replied Sarah.

Veronica said, "She's been acting strange lately."

"Yeah, she's quiet…"

"Listless…"

"It's like she's under some sort of curse. She only does what needs to be done."

"Hey, I'll see you guys later," James said, getting out of his chair.

"Where are you going?"

"To talk to Lily," he replied, dodging the kid with the rain cloud and climbing the stairs to the girls' dorm.

Veronica said, "You're not allowed up there, you know."

"I don't care. There's something wrong with her and I am going to find out what it is."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Erm… Thank you for the reviews… Yeah, thank you to all the new reviewers… Okay, I'm going to type the next chapter now.


	10. Explanations aka Déjà Vu

Author's Note: Uh… well, this story is turning out different from how I thought it would. Hehe. I didn't expect to get so many ideas and suggestions from people.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics_= emphasis

_italics_= thoughts

-Explanations a.k.a. Déjà Vu-

James pushed open the door to the sixth year girls' dorm. "Lily?"

The stunned girl asked, "What are you doing here? This isn't allowed."

"So I've heard. Lily, what's the matter with you? Everyone's worried about you. You won't eat, you're listless, you don't talk unless necessary… There are people down there who care about you and want you to get back to normal. And so do I."

Lily didn't meet James'ss gaze. "Look, Potter, just go away. I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, you are going to talk about it because I won't leave until you do."

She shook her head. "No."

"Lily. Please. I just want to help you."

"Why? Three weeks ago you wouldn't have cared."

"That was three weeks ago. This is now."

"Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Because I care about you and I want to make this better. But I can't do that if you won't tell me what's wrong."

"How do I know you really care?" she said quietly.

James went over to Lily, who was sitting on her bed, and put his hands on her shoulders. She tried to shrug him off, but he held on.

"Lily, look at me."

She shook her head.

"Look at me!"

"Stop it!"

"No. I won't stop until you look at me."

She paused for a moment, then slowly moved her head and shifted her gaze to meet his. "Happy now?"

He ignored her comment and said, "Look at me. Do I look like someone who doesn't care?"

She looked into his eyes and shook her head no.

"Now can you tell me what's wrong?"

Lily took a deep breath. "Fine. Do you remember that dream I had last week?"

"Yeah. Lily, I thought you were okay with that."

"Well, I was. Until I remembered something."

"What?"

"I remembered who the familiar person was."

"Well, who was it then?"

"James, it was… it was you."

"Me?" James said, his brow furrowed.

"Yes."

"So… I died," he said slowly.

Lily nodded. "I remember the whole dream now. We… we were… married. Voldemort—that's who the evil person was—was after us. We were in hiding, but somehow he found out where we were."

"Voldemort."

"Yes. Voldemort. The Dark Lord. You-Know-Who. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"He sure has a lot of names for someone who must not be named," James said, trying to inject some humor into the moment.

"_James_."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry," James said, "Go on."

"Harry, the baby… he was ours. He looked just like you, but with my eyes. Voldemort killed you right after you told me to take Harry and run. I got in his way as he tried to kill Harry. There was a bright flash and then I was dead. Merlin, do you realize how scary that is? To see yourself die?"

"I can't say that I do."

"And it's all real. It's going to happen. I know it."

"How do you know that? Predicting the future is very hard to do."

"It's not that. I just have a feeling… I don't know what it is. I just know this is going to happen." She started to cry. "I don't want to die. I don't want _you _to die."

"Lily. Lily, please don't cry… No, Lily. I said _stop_ crying, not cry _more_. Oh, just come here," he said, pulling her into his arms. "Hey, you stopped calling me Potter."

Lily looked up at James and managed a weak smile. "Yeah," she said softly.

The two of them just stayed like that for a while, not realizing that their friends downstairs were impatiently waiting for James to come back with an answer for Lily's behavior. (AN: Oy, mushiness again. This part wasn't written that well, but you get the picture right? Yeah?)

!!!

"Do you think she killed him?"

"Sirius!"

"What? It's plausible. I mean, he hasn't come down yet and we haven't heard anything from up there for a while."

"Well, I don't think they're fighting."

"Yeah, we haven't seen James being thrown down the stairs. There haven't been any explosions. And if they were arguing, we'd hear them."

"Well, what do you think they're up to?"

"Do you think we should go up there?"

"No, you guys stay here. Veronica and I will go and see what's going on. We'll come back in a bit."

(AN: Yeah, if you were confused about who's saying what, don't worry, I am too. You can figure _some_ out based on what they're saying.)

!!!

Veronica and Sarah gently pushed open the door to their room. _No mess or anything. Everything seems to be fine,_ Sarah thought. _Oh, my God. _She had caught sight of her friends. Lily was sitting on her bed with her head on James's chest. James was smoothing her hair. They didn't notice the two girls standing in the doorway.

Veronica reacted the same way her friend did. _What's going on?_ She and Sarah looked at each other, then closed the door and tiptoed away.

"What was that about?" Sarah whispered.

"I'm not sure, but it'll make for an interesting conversation topic."

!!!

"Do you feel better now?" James asked after a few minutes.

"A little."

"Good. Now do you think you can talk to your friends instead of ignoring them?"

Lily grinned. "Yeah."

"Well, come on then." James got up and started to pull Lily towards the door.

"Wait." She pulled him back. "Can we just stay up here for a few more minutes? I need to think of what to say to them."

"Sure."

!!!

Downstairs, Sirius was asking the girls, "So? What's the verdict?"

"I'm not sure," Sarah said, shaking her head.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Okay, um… this is so weird. I can't say it."

"I'll tell them, Sarah." Veronica then proceeded to tell the boys what they had seen.

"That's not what I expected," Remus said.

Sirius put in, "Ha! I knew there was something going on between those two. Prongs just couldn't admit it."

"Sure you did, Sirius."

"Hey! I did," Sirius said defensively.

"Uh-huh," Sarah replied skeptically.

Sirius started tickling his girlfriend. "Sirius! Stop! Don't!" Sarah punched him in the arm.

"Ow. You hit hard," Sirius groaned, rubbing his arm.

Sarah smiled. "Well you _did_ say I was surprisingly strong, didn't you?"

"I did, didn't I?"

"There you have it."

Veronica said, "Have you ever seen anything so stupid?"

Her boyfriend replied, "Well, I sleep in the same room as Padfoot, so yes, I have."

She giggled.

Sarah noticed the exchange and said to Sirius, "Have you ever seen anything so stupid?"

"Well, I sleep in the same room as Moony, so yes, I have."

The teenagers started laughing at the silliness of the conversation.

!!!

"Ready now?" James asked.

"Yes. No, wait! No. Yes? Oh, I don't know…"

"Lily."

"Yeah, just a _few_ more minutes, okay?"

"Fine. But if you're not ready in five minutes, I'm going down without you."

"All right. Sheesh."

!!!

"Lily, come on."

"Okay, okay. Don't get your knickers in a twist."

The two headed down the spiral staircase. "So what are you gonna say?" asked James.

"I have no idea."

"What? But you had at least ten minutes to think about it!"

"Well, yeah, but I couldn't think of anything."

"And you're supposed to be smart…"

"Hey!"

"Well, if you didn't think of anything to say, then how are you going to explain anything to them?"

"I'll just go with whatever comes out of my mouth."

"And if that makes no sense?"

"Then they'll send me to the nuthouse and it won't matter anymore."

(AN: Okay, now _that_ conversation made no sense. But um… yeah. Moving on…)

!!!

Lily stopped a few stairs before the bottom. "I can't do this." She turned around and tried to go back up, but James stopped her.

"Yes you can. Just go and say whatever you're going to say."

"But I don't _know_ what I'm going to say."

"Then go and be silent. Whatever. Just go."

!!!

Lily entered the common room. She took one look at her friends—who were looking right back at her—and tried to move backward. James pushed her from behind, moving her further into the room. She turned around and glared at him. He just nodded at the sixth years, urging her to go over to where they were sitting.

She sighed and walked to the group of sixteen-year-olds. She took the seat that James had vacated about twenty minutes earlier. "I suppose you're wondering about how I've been acting lately."

They all just gave her looks that plainly said, _Duh._ "Right. Well, um… I've just been having a hard time lately with… some stuff," she said. She had decided not to tell them about her dream. There was no point in worrying them about something they weren't involved in. James came to stand behind her chair.

"What stuff?" Peter asked.

"I'd rather not say. Look, the point is, I'm sorry for being so weird and everything. I just didn't realize I was neglecting you. Do you forgive me?"

Veronica looked relieved. "Sure we forgive you. We're your friends. Besides, if it weren't for you, Remus and I probably wouldn't be together," she said, taking Remus's hand.

Lily smiled. "Oh, yeah. How's that going, by the way?"

"Pretty good."

"That's great."

Sirius said, "Speaking of relationships… Anything new with you, Lily? You _involved _with anyone? Well, are you? Huh? Huh?"

She gave him a strange look, then slowly said, "No…"

"Uh-huh." He got this look on his face that made him look like he was planning something.

"What are you thinking, Padfoot?" James asked.

"Nothing."

"Sure. And I'm the Queen of England."

"I'm not thinking anything, Your Majesty."

"Well, that much is obvious."

"Hey, give me some credit. I do think of some pretty good pranks."

"Yeah, but what about the rest of the time?"

"The rest of the time, I'm thinking about my wonderful girlfriend, of course."

Sarah grinned and ruffled Sirius's hair. Remus made a gagging noise.

Lily smiled. Everything was back to normal. _And there's only one week left to go_ (AN: of the bet, of course)_._

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: So? What'd you think?


	11. Week 4

Author's Note: Right, thanks… Now I know what knickers are… I was always confused about that before…

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics_= emphasis

_italics_= thoughts

-Week #4-

On Monday, September 24, Lily made everything Snape eat or drink taste like soap_. He's washing his own mouth out with soap_, she thought amusedly as he took a mouthful from his goblet that morning, then spit it out, spraying Malfoy and Crabbe in the process.

Remus had to "visit his mother" that day (AN: You know what I mean, right?).

Tuesday, she caused a Hufflepuff to trip and fall once every time she went to another class. The girl didn't get hurt, but it did cause her to be late to class (luckily, she didn't receive any detentions because she was a very good student).

Wednesday, Lily made a Gryffindor fifth year's quill write strange things. In Care of Magical Creatures, his letters got all mixed up and he somehow wrote about counirns and firgophifps instead of unicorns and hippogriffs.

On Thursday, her cauldron "accidentally" exploded in Potions class. The half-finished potion splashed Professor Brewer, and he turned into a half-llama, half-fish creature (luckily, the back half was the fish, or he would have suffocated). He was stuck like that for half an hour until someone got Professor McGonagall to change him back. That prank was her final well-known prank required for the bet.

On Friday, a third year Slytherin got drenched with water every time she turned around (she was dry again when she turned back around).

!!!

"Four days to go, Evans."

"Oh, now we're back to Evans?"

"Erm… yes?"

Lily shook her head. "Potter, you're an idiot."

"Why, thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Yet I don't seem to care."

"Four days and you're back to being a Marauder again. And I was enjoying this peace and quiet so much." Lily smirked.

"Haha. You know you're not going to think of anymore pranks. I'm going to win this bet."

"Right. And flaming squirrels will fly out of my robes."

"Ooh… look. I think I saw that one holding an acorn." James smirked in that infuriating way.

"Idiot."

"Thank you again. You seem to be just doling out the compliments today, huh, Evans?"

!!!

Saturday, there was green slime in front of the Great Hall. Everyone who didn't see it slipped (and got his or her shoes ruined in the process). No one fell, but there was definitely a lot of slipping and sliding going on.

Sunday, Lily did the same thing to Remus that she had done to James on the first day of their bet. The boy walked downstairs and looked at her. "You look good in blue," Lily said as Veronica stifled a giggle.

!!!

"Two more days, Evans. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Can _you_?"

"Of course. I'm me," James said pompously.

"Do you really want me to bring up the flaming squirrels again?"

"They were actually quite amusing."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Okay, short, but I have to go to school now, so… yeah.


	12. The Winner

Author's Note: The moment you've all been waiting for—the winner of the bet is revealed!

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics _= emphasis

_italics _= thoughts

-The Winner-

On Monday, the first day of October, Lily made Sirius's books slide out of his reach whenever he tried to touch them. Several of his teachers were confused to find the boy's books on the floor in front of him instead of on his desk.

Tuesday was the last day of the bet. Lily made flaming squirrels run around the common room.

On her way down to breakfast, she bumped into Lucius Malfoy—literally.

"Watch where you're going!" he snapped.

"Sorry."

He walked into the Great Hall. James, who was behind Lily, heard Malfoy mutter, "Filthy Mudblood," as he passed. He was about to go after the despicable Slytherin when he suddenly got a better idea.

!!!

The Gryffindor sixth years seated themselves. A "poof" sound was heard coming from the Slytherin table. Everyone turned to look at Malfoy, who was standing up.

"What? What is it?" He looked down and screamed. He had long, curly hair and a dress. The dress had cow spots and a picture of Snape's teddy bear on it. He had a "Kick Me" sign on his back. He had bunny ears. His skin was orange and his hair was pink (AN: Ew… clashing…). His clothes were covered with bits of food. Flaming squirrels were running around his feet. A rain cloud was above him. He was standing in a pool of slime.

Everyone started laughing. Even the teachers were chuckling. Professor Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling more than usual.

Sarah turned to Lily and said, "I thought you already did your prank for today."

"I did," she replied, puzzled.

"Well, who did it then?"

"I did."

They turned to look at James. "You?" Lily asked.

"Yeah."

"You just lost the bet."

"I know."

"Why'd you do it? Today was the last day."

James said, "Malfoy called you a you-know-what. I had to do _something_."

"Oh. Thank you," Lily said quietly.

"I figured if I was going to lose, I might as well do it right."

Sarah turned to Sirius. "He lost. I believe we said ten Galleons."

Sirius groaned and handed his girlfriend some gold coins. "James, why'd you have to lose?"

!!!

"Well, today's the third. I guess I'm your slave until November. So what do you want me to do first?"

Lily grinned and said, "Let's see… Your first task will be to… kiss me."

"I can definitely do that."

!!!

"See, what'd I tell you?"

Sirius, Sarah, Remus, Veronica, and Peter were hiding behind some furniture, spying on their friends.

Remus groaned and handed his girlfriend fifteen Galleons. Veronica smiled and patted him on the head. "Why are our friends so predictable?"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Well, what do you think? I'll have the next chapter up soon. Wow… 84 reviews…


	13. Relationships

Author's Note: Wow, new chapter! Right in the middle of the fic too! Hehe. Expect new chapters to be inserted between the original ones. They're kinda like lost episodes or something.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics _= emphasis

_italics _= thoughts

Relationships

James entered the common room, panting. He had followed Lily up and down probably all of the staircases in the school. That itself was not too much of a problem. James was an athlete, after all, and he had great endurance. However, Lily had found it fitting to weigh James down with all of her schoolbooks and some random belongings of hers that James was sure had been charmed to be ten times their normal weight.

However, a bet was a bet, and there was absolutely nothing James could do to ease his suffering. Actually, looking at Lily's pretty face, James thought that maybe it wasn't so bad.

"Prongs!" Sirius called from across the room.

James glanced at Lily, who nodded. He handed Lily her things, then headed toward the place where his best friend was sitting. "What is it?" he asked, dropping into an armchair across from Sirius and Sarah.

"Sarah seems to think I was flirting with Venus Baker," Sirius said, looking at Sarah, who was sitting next to him with her arms crossed. "Tell her I wasn't."

James tried to remember seeing Sirius and Venus together during the day. "She's in Hufflepuff, isn't she?" When he received an anxious nod, he asked, "When did the incident in question occur?"

"After Transfiguration class," Sarah said, her voice decidedly cool.

"Oh, that wasn't flirting," James said. "That's how Sirius talks to all girls."

Sarah did not look remotely mollified.

"I don't like Venus, I swear!" Sirius said. "She was just asking me a question!"

"And what question was that?" the blonde asked.

Sirius replied, "I—I don't recall."

"James, do you remember what Venus asked Sirius?"

James adjusted his glasses. He wanted to defend his best friend but, seeing the look on Sarah's face, decided to go with the truth. "She—er—asked him if he was busy tonight."

"Oh, really?" Sarah said, turning to her boyfriend. "_Interesting_."

Sirius said frantically, "I told her that I _was _busy because I was going to be with _you_! I wasn't flirting with her, honest."

Personally, James thought it was difficult to distinguish between the times that Sirius was flirting and the times that he wasn't, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. Sarah had begun to look more forgiving.

"James!" Lily called sweetly from across the room. "We're going to the library."

James groaned. "She's probably going to borrow twenty books just to make me carry them."

Sirius laughed. "See you later, Prongs." He turned to his girlfriend.

Sarah asked, "Did you really tell Venus that you were going to be with me?"

"Yes!"

"You made sure she got the message?"

Sirius sighed. "Sarah, you have no reason to be paranoid, all right? You're fantastic and beautiful and so much fun." His voice took on a lighter tone. "Besides, if I were going to flirt with another girl, you and I wouldn't be talking right now."

!!!

"Uh, Lily?"

"Yes?"

James looked puzzled. "This isn't the library," he said, looking into the empty classroom Lily had led him to.

"No, it isn't," Lily agreed, gently pushing him inside and closing the door.

James turned around. "So what are we—?" He was cut off by a kiss. After Lily had pulled away, he asked, "What was that?"

Lily smiled and shook her head. "You're really dense, you know that?"

"I take it we're not going to the library then?"

"No," Lily replied, kissing him again.

"Oh." James tilted his head when she pulled back. "What are we going to do then?"

Lily felt like smacking him in the back of the head. "James, you're a smart boy. Think about it." She crossed her arms and waited.

"Okay, we're in an empty classroom instead of the library…" James moved his hands about during his thinking process, pointing in different directions. "And you—you were just… Ah. I see."

Lily shook her head. "How is it that one of the brightest students in our year takes this long to figure out something that's really quite simple?"

In reply, James said, "I must have been mesmerized by your eyes."

"Have you been listening to Sirius?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmm." James frowned. "That always works for him. How come I just get this suspicion from you?"

Lily moved back to sit on the edge of a desk. "Have you ever considered that maybe it works when he says it because he's the one saying it? I hate to say it, James, but you're not quite the charmer that he is."

James gave a slight scowl. "Why are you praising my best friend?_ I_ am your boyfriend, remember?"

Lily laughed. "I'm not praising him. I'm just saying that he's better at attracting girls than you are." Seeing James's worried look, she said, "Don't worry. I am immune to Sirius Black. Sarah, on the other hand, is completely smitten with him. I would never go after my best friend's boyfriend. Besides, I have you, don't I?" Lily stood and came toward James, ruffling his hair affectionately. "You're sweet, James. You're sweet and honest." She paused. "When you need to be," she amended. "Now, come on," Lily said, opening the door. "Let's go."

"Wait, I thought we came here to—" James protested.

"I'm sorry, mister, but you ruined it when your denseness overtook your brain." Lily began walking toward Gryffindor Tower.

James blinked in disbelief. "You're evil," he called down the corridor.

"Thank you," Lily tossed over her shoulder. "Hurry, before I make you run. You're still my slave, you know."

James hurriedly caught up with her. Sometimes he thought that he would have been much better off if the bet and its resulting events had not occurred.

!!!

Sirius stared at James, who was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "Let me get this straight. Your girlfriend was instigating a major snog session, and you couldn't figure it out?"

"She's a very confusing person."

Sirius furrowed his brow. "And then you started talking… about me."

"Right," James said dully.

"Uh-huh." Sirius shook his head. "Hopeless. The boy is hopeless," he said to Peter, who had just entered the dormitory.

"Whatever you say, Sirius," answered Peter, confused.

Sirius appeared upside-down in James's view. "How did the conversation turn to the subject of me? And—why were you talking at all? You should have been—"

"I know, I know, snogging the living daylights out of her."

Remus, having also just come in, gave James a curious look. "Prongs, what prompted you to utter that sentence?"

James turned his head. "Hello, Moony," he said, not even attempting to answer Remus's question. Looking at Sirius again, he said, "I complimented her eyes, but she just looked at me strangely. I think I said that that line always worked for you or something, and we started talking about you. Apparently, Lily thinks you're charming."

Remus interrupted, "I am sure that's not exactly what Lily said."

"Something to that effect," retorted James. "Anyway, Padfoot, I've been wondering. Why _does _it work for you but not me?"

Sirius smiled. "Because _I _am Sirius Black, and you are merely James Potter." He laughed. "I have no bloody idea why girls like me better than you. Does it really matter? You managed to snag Lily with your own quirky ways, didn't you? You're lucky, even if you're not exactly charming." He sat down on James's bed. "To be honest, I think it's more difficult for me," he said. "Imagine having to fend off the female population of Hogwarts while dating Sarah Johnson. Like today, with Venus. That was just one small sample of what I have to go through every day."

"Don't be so melodramatic," said Remus, who was rolling his eyes. "You know you enjoy flirting."

"What can I say? Old habits die hard," Sirius answered. He smiled. "I'm trying to stop, though. For Sarah."

"Oh?" James asked, sitting up. "She's special, eh?"

"When I think about her, the need to flirt goes away—like I don't need to keep searching."

James nodded. "I feel the same way about Lily."

Sirius punched him lightly. "Prongs, Lily Evans is the only girl you've ever been interested in. What search are you referring to?"

"You know what I mean," James said good-naturedly. "I used to think she was terrible. I thought we would never get along. But I'm finding out that she's actually a lot like me. Better than me, actually."

"That isn't saying much, Prongs."

"Shut up."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? Well, enjoy this chapter that I just kinda stuck in the middle because I liked it when the idea came to me. More to come!


	14. The Wedding

Author's Note: Phew! I don't have to think of anymore pranks… that was hard. I don't know exactly how weddings work. I'm just going with traditional stuff I found out and stuff you always see on TV. Oh, just so you know, this is _not_ taking place right after they graduate. It's a few years after that (so Lily and James are still relatively young when they get married).

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

--- setting change

_italics _ emphasis

_italics _ thoughts

… time

The Wedding

3 years later

"Oh, my God, you're getting married today!" Sarah shrieked, running into the room.

"Yeah, I know!" Lily replied. "Sarah, do you realize that in one hour, I'm going to be Mrs. James Potter?"

"This is too exciting! I can't stop screaming! I have to breathe," Sarah answered, trying to catch her breath.

Veronica came into the room. "Okay, so far, everything's fine."

Sarah and Veronica were both Lily's maids of honor because she couldn't decide between her two best friends.

"Nothing's wrong?" Lily inquired.

"Well, Sirius is running around with a bunch of five-year-olds, but other than that, everything is perfect."

Lily stood up. "Well, how do I look?" she asked.

"You look great."

"That dress is beautiful."

Lily grinned. "Of course you'd think that, Sarah," she said, "You helped pick it out."

---

"I'm nervous."

"That's obvious," Sirius replied. "Stop looking so jumpy."

"I'm trying!"

Sirius was James's best man. Remus had declined when Sirius had offered to share the best man position. He didn't feel like he could do a very good job, as he was "ill" every month and had been feeling sick lately. Besides, James had known Sirius longer than he had known Remus.

"Okay, looking a little less jumpy now, yet still very nervous. Prongs, everything is fine. Now you need to relax," he said.

"What if I mess up, and Lily gets mad at me and sends flaming squirrels after me?" James asked worriedly.

"Again? I don't think that's likely. She doesn't usually do the same thing two days in a row."

---

The guests were seated, the music was playing, and the decorations were beautiful.

Lily and James's parents were not there. Lily's parents had died in a plane crash the previous year, and James's parents had been killed by Voldemort not so long ago. Petunia, Lily's sister, refused to come to the wedding, saying that the whole thing would probably be a freak show, and a horrible one at that.

The minister, James, and Sirius took their places at the front of the room. The wedding was about to begin.

The procession began. The ushers came down the aisle in pairs. The bridesmaids followed them. Sarah and Veronica came in next. The ring bearer, Sarah's six-year-old second cousin, was after them. He was The flower girl appeared and threw flower petals as she traveled down the aisle.

Now came the big moment. Lily and Remus appeared and proceeded down the aisle. The guests stood as the bride passed them. Remus was giving Lily away since her own father could not. The others had insisted, feeling that he needed to play _some_ part in the wedding.

Remus and Lily joined James at the front of the room. The minister began the ceremony.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony."

"Therefore if any man can give any just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him speak now, or forever hold his peace."

"I have a reason!" Sirius exclaimed.

"What?"

"Naw, I'm just kidding. Go ahead."

Everyone turned his or her attention back to the minister. He asked James, "Do you, James Potter, take this woman to be your wedded wife? Will you love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her, in sickness and in health, so long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"And do you, Lily Evans, take this man to be your wedded husband? Will you love him, comfort him, honor, and keep him, in sickness and in health, so long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

"That would be me." Remus placed Lily's right hand in the minister's right hand, and then took his seat.

The minister placed Lily's right hand in James's.

"Repeat after me," he said to the groom. "I, James—" He recited what James was supposed to say.

"I, James, take thee Lily to be my wedded wife—to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live. I give you this ring as a sign of my promise."

The minister turned to Lily. "Repeat after me. I, Lily—"

"I, Lily, take thee James to be my wedded husband—to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live. I give you this ring as a sign of my promise."

James took the wedding ring. He said, "With this ring I thee wed," and placed it on Lily's ring finger. She did the same for him.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

A photograph of the happy couple was taken.

---

The reception had begun. Dinner was served, and everyone dug into the delicious feast. At the end of the meal, Sirius stood up and proposed a toast. "To Lily," he said, "And may her new life with James not be as hectic as we all know it will."

After that, the dancing began. Lily and James, as the new couple, opened the dancing. Then Lily danced with Sirius while James danced with Sarah. She danced with Remus when James began dancing with Veronica. Soon, everyone was dancing.

---

Sirius and Sarah had been dancing for a while. They were getting tired, so they stopped to rest. Sirius led Sarah out onto the balcony.

Sirius began speaking. "Sarah, we've known each other for a long time."

"Yes, we have," Sarah replied, smiling fondly.

"You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah…" Sarah said, unsure of where the conversation was going.

"I could spend the rest of my life with you."

"What are you trying to say, Sirius?"

"Look, what I'm trying to say is…" Sirius got down on one knee and produced a ring from his pocket. "Sarah Johnson, will you marry me?"

Sarah gasped. "You want me to marry you?"

"Yes."

"Oh… my… God…"

"Sarah, you have to give me an answer soon, because I'm kneeling on a rock, and I may be bleeding."

"Well, I guess the only answer I can give you is yes."

---

Sirius and Sarah had come back inside, both looking very happy. They had decided not to tell anyone about their engagement until later. This was Lily and James's night, not theirs.

---

"Well, how does it feel to be Lily Potter instead of Lily Evans?" James asked. He and his new wife were dancing.

"I don't know," Lily replied teasingly. "I'm not sure if I like it…"

"I'm hurt," he answered, mockingly putting a hand to his chest.

Lily grinned. "Great, I have a clown for a husband."

"Yeah, where'd I put that rubber nose?" James paused. "That _is_ what you call them, right?"

"Someday, I am going to teach you all about Muggles," Lily said, shaking her head.

"What do you think is going on with Sarah and Sirius?" she asked, indicating them with a nod of her head. "They look excited about something."

"I don't know. We'll ask them later. Right now, we're dancing," James said, twirling her around.

---

A slow song was now playing, and everyone was paired off. Remus and Veronica were in the middle of the room.

"You look beautiful," Remus said softly. "But, of course, you always do."

"Thank you. You're not looking so bad yourself." Veronica rested her head on his shoulder.

Remus smiled, and then a serious expression came over his face. "Veronica?" he whispered.

"Hmm?" she said in the same hushed tone.

"We have to break up."

"What?"

"Look, there are just some things about me—"

Veronica interrupted him, "Remus, I know you're a…" she lowered her voice, "a werewolf."

"How?"

"I'm not stupid. You disappear once a month. That boggart we saw in our fourth year at Hogwarts turned into the moon when you faced it. And I had an assignment that required me to check my lunar chart. I realized that every time the moon was full, you were gone."

"Well, if you know that, then you know how dangerous I am to you."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Veronica, I don't want to hurt you."

"So you're breaking up with me? Remus, I love you."

"I know. I know. That's what's making this so hard."

"Why are you doing this?" Veronica asked, trying not to cry.

"I'm afraid that if one day I lose control… What if I… bite you? I don't want to condemn you to the same fate as mine."

"I don't care. I don't want to lose you."

Remus took a deep breath. "It has to be this way. This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I love you, and that's why I have to stay away from you."

"No."

"_Veronica_."

"You can't do this to me!"

"I have to."

Veronica studied his face. "It's really over, isn't it?"

"Yes."

(AN: Okay, these next few lines are _not_ supposed to be read humorously, as _certain_ _people_ I know thought it was. If you watch _Friends_ and you've seen Monica and Richard's breakup in _The One With Barry and Mindy's Wedding_, it's like that.)

"So what do we do now?" whispered Veronica.

"I guess we just keep dancing," Remus said. He realized that he was holding the woman he loved for the last time.

(AN: This part is so sad, and I'm kicking myself for writing it. Aah! How could I have done that to poor Remus? I'm sorry, but it had to be this way…)

---

Sarah and Sirius were coming back from taking a walk when they saw Veronica huddled up in a chair outside, her long, dark hair shielding her face.

Sarah, sensing something was wrong, told Sirius she would meet him inside, then approached her friend. "Veronica? Are you all right?"

"Remus broke up with me." She looked up, and Sarah could see tear tracks on Veronica's cheeks. She wasn't crying at the moment, though.

"What? But he loves you."

"Yeah. It's because he's a you-know-what," she explained. "He said he didn't want to mess up and accidentally bite me."

"I'm sorry."

Veronica looked out at the night sky and smiled ruefully, her tears shining in the moonlight. "He says he doesn't want to hurt me, but what he's doing to me right now is hurting me more than a werewolf ever could."

"Do you want me to get Lily? She'd probably be better at this counseling thing."

Veronica shook her head. "No. It's her wedding day. She's supposed to be happy and enjoying this party. Don't get her upset just because of me."

"Well, all right then." Sarah felt a little guilty. _Here I am, ecstatic over the fact that Sirius and I are engaged, while my friend is crying her eyes out because she's just been dumped by the guy she loves._

"How are things going with you and Sirius?"

"Uh…" _How do I tell her without making her feel worse? _Sarah thought. _Maybe I should just come right out and say it._ "He asked me to marry him, and I said yes."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"That's great."

"Does it make you feel worse, knowing about this?" Sarah asked, feeling guiltier by the second.

"A little. But hey, every woman is jealous when she finds out her best friend's getting married and she isn't."

"That's true, I guess. I know _I_ was jealous of Lily when she and James got engaged."

"He proposed in front of all those people, too."

"I guess he wanted to make sure she said yes. How could she refuse him with everyone watching?"

They laughed.

"Hey, feel better, okay? I'm going to go inside now. And don't tell anyone about me and Sirius. I don't want to steal Lily's thunder."

"I won't," she replied, as Sarah rejoined the party.

With Sarah now gone, Veronica felt very much alone. _How could he do this to me? Why did he have to be a werewolf in the first place? It's only been an hour, and I already miss him._

She stood up, and then screamed as she threw the chair next to the one she had been sitting in. It broke on impact. She slid down to the floor, sobbing harder than before. She didn't care that her hair and clothes were getting dirty. _Why? _she thought. "Why!"

---

"Hey, Moony."

Remus was sitting at a table, shredding his napkin. "Hello, Padfoot."

"Is there a shortage of confetti somewhere?"

He looked up at his friend, then realized what he was doing and stopped ripping the paper. "No."

Sirius sat down. "You don't look happy."

"How would _you_ feel if you just broke up with the woman you love?"

"You broke up with Veronica?"

Remus nodded.

_Well, that explains Veronica outside,_ Sirius thought. "Why'd you do that?" he asked aloud.

"Because of… what I am. I don't want to put her in danger."

"But you two were so in love."

"I know. I was just dancing with her and looking around at everything and everybody… I saw Lily and James, and I realized that someday I was going to ask Veronica to marry me. And if we got married, I'd be a danger to her. You, of all people, should know that I can be very dangerous when I'm… _not myself_. And if we had kids… They might be the same as me (AN: I don't know, do people pass off werewolf genes? An unsolved mystery…). I want Veronica to be with someone normal—to have a normal life."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. I hate this. I really do. I wish things were different. But they're not. So it has to be this way."

"Seems a bit strange to me," Sirius said. He was glad that he wasn't in Remus's position. He would never want to give up Sarah.

"Sirius, you _know_ I would never want to hurt Veronica. But in this case, I must be cruel to be kind."

"Yeah, well, if you need me, I'm here for you, mate."

"Thanks, "Remus said, glad for any consolation.

Sarah came over to the table. "Hey, Remus. Veronica just told me what happened."

"Is she mad at me?"

"I don't know. I think she's really sad."

Remus sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "She knows I _had_ to do this, right?"

"She knows. She just doesn't want to accept it." Sarah patted his hand. "Give it time."

"God, I hate myself right now."

"It'll be okay, Remus."

"No, it won't. I love her, and she loves me, but we can't be together because of something that happened to me when I was a little boy."

Sirius said, "Moony, I know it looks bad right now. Okay, really bad. But Veronica's reasonable. She'll forgive you."

"What if she doesn't?"

Sarah answered, "Then you'll just have to live with it."

---

Lily and James had finally stopped dancing. They were exhausted and sank down into two chairs at the table where Remus, Sarah, and Sirius were sitting.

"Hey, what's up?" Lily asked, noticing the solemn looks on their faces.

"Yeah, you all look depressed," James said, frowning.

Sirius said, "It's nothing. We just had too much cake mixed with a lot of dancing, and, well…"

Lily interrupted, "We get the picture."

"Moony, are you okay? You look like you're about to throw up," remarked a concerned James.

"I'm fine, Prongs. I just have to rest."

"Well, all right then."

"So how have your first few hours as a married couple been?" Sarah asked.

"Great. Wonderful. Fantastic. Magnificent. Couldn't be better—"

"James? Be quiet."

"What? Lily, I'm just trying to answer a question here."

"Go find your clown nose."

"Maybe I will." There was a pause.

"Why are we having such a stupid conversation?" Lily wondered.

"Because they," James said, indicating their friends, "aren't saying anything."

"Ah."

"Er… Why _aren't _you guys saying anything?"

"Do we need to bring up the cake again?"

"Oh."

"Where's Veronica?" Lily asked. "I haven't seen her for a while."

Remus, Sarah, and Sirius looked at each other.

"Um…"

"Well…"

"You see…"

"What's going on?" Lily demanded.

Sarah said, "She wasn't feeling well… I think she's outside now… getting some fresh air or something."

"Okay. I'll go see how she's feeling."

"No!" all three shouted at once.

"What? Why can't I see my friend?" Lily asked.

"You just stay here," Sarah said. "Relax. Rest. I'll go see about Veronica." She started walking across the room to the doors leading outside.

"I'm going to go get some punch," Sirius said.

"I'll go with you. I'm kind of thirsty," Remus added.

"What was that about?" James whispered to Lily.

"I'm not sure."

"Do you get the feeling that our friends are keeping something from us?"

"I think so. Otherwise they're just being insane."

"That _is_ actually very likely," James mused.

Lily chuckled. "Very."

---

"Veronica? Are you still out here?" Sarah asked, closing the doors behind her.

"Sarah?"

Sarah spotted her friend on the floor. "Veronica, you look like a mess."

"I _feel_ like a mess."

The blonde woman looked at the remains of the chair Veronica had destroyed. "Yeah, well, that chair looks like a mess too."

"I went crazy for a moment," Veronica explained.

"Ah."

"This whole thing just sucks. My best friend _is_ married, my other best friend's _getting_ married, and I just got chucked by the man I love. I really _am _happy for you guys, but I wish I had some chance of getting married. Now I don't even have a boyfriend. I never thought Remus would do this to me. He loves me, and I love him, but we can't be together because of something that's not even his fault. Why did this have to happen? The best thing that ever happened to me is gone."

"Veronica, I know you're hurt, but that doesn't mean you still can't have some fun tonight. Come on, like you said, it's your best friend's wedding and you're happy for her. So come inside and celebrate it with her."

Veronica covered her face. "No, I can't face him. I can't. Not yet."

Sarah sighed. "If I can make sure that you won't see him, will you come inside?"

"Fine. But I need to clean up first. And I'm only going in if you are _sure_ he's not there."

"All right." Sarah walked inside.

---

"Sirius, Veronica will come inside, but only if Remus is gone," Sarah told her fiancé.

"Oh."

"She looks really miserable and it's cold outside, so do you think you can get him away from here?"

"I'll try. Sheesh, the things we do for friends…" Sirius headed over to his friend. "Remus, Sarah wants Veronica to come in. But you see, the thing is, she'll only come if you're not here."

Remus got up. "All right. I'm going."

"Where?"

"I'll just go to the room you and James were in before the wedding."

"Okay. See you then."

Sirius walked over to his fiancée and told her that Remus was not in the room. Sarah went back outside to get Veronica.

---

"Veronica, he's gone now."

Veronica looked up. "Really?"

"Yeah. Come on, we need to get you cleaned up." She performed a simple spell, and Veronica's hair and dress were clean. There were no tear tracks on her face.

The two walked into the room.

---

"Hi," Veronica said as she joined Lily, James, and Sirius at the table.

"Hey," they replied.

"So when does this party end?"

"Not sure. When everyone drops dead from all the dancing, I suppose," James said, grinning.

Veronica managed a small smile.

_There's something different about her. She doesn't look happy. I wonder if anything's wrong. Our friends have been acting strange. Like they're keeping something from us. What is it? Is something wrong? Maybe they don't want to bother us because we're celebrating right now, _Lily thought.

"Congratulations, you two. We thought you would have killed each other before you even got to the wedding," Veronica said to the Potters.

Lily smiled. "Don't think that thought never crossed my mind."

James groaned as he remembered the flaming squirrels from yesterday. One of them had gone up his pant leg (AN: Ouch!). He was still a little sore. "You almost killed me with those rodents."

Lily laughed. "So?"

"Oh, shut up."

Everyone laughed. "Where did Remus go?" James asked.

"He, er… he went to the bathroom," Sirius said quickly.

"It's been a while."

"Yeah, well, he was feeling sicker than the rest of us. Must have had more cake than I did. And that's saying something."

"I'll say. You can eat almost as much as Wormtail can."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

---

"I think I'll go home now," Veronica said a while later.

"Why?" Lily asked. "Don't you want to stay?"

"I just don't feel well."

"Oh. Well, see you then."

"Bye."

She hugged Lily, James, Sirius, and Sarah, then left.

"I'll go see if Remus is… feeling better," Sirius said.

---

"Hey, Moony. She's gone now."

"She left?"

"Yeah."

"I'm an idiot. How could I have let her go?"

"Because you want her to be safe."

"Why'd you have to remind me?"

---

The celebration was over. Everyone was tired, so people started going home. Soon, it was just the five friends left.

"I'll be leaving now," Remus said.

"Wait! Are you going to tell us what's wrong?" Lily asked.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" he answered nervously.

"You three have been acting strange since about an hour or two into the reception."

"And I doubt you could eat that much cake. Unless you took everyone else's, I just don't see how it's even possible to _have_ that much in your possession," James pointed out.

Sarah said, "Look, there's good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

"The bad news."

"I broke up with Veronica," Remus said.

"What?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm a—" Remus decided that the word was safe to say. Everyone at the table already knew about his secret. "Because I'm a werewolf. What if I hurt her someday? I'd never forgive myself if that happened."

Realization dawned on Lily. "Oh… so _that's_ what was bothering her…"

"Well, then what's the good news?" James asked.

"We," Sarah gestured to Sirius and herself, "are engaged."

"Really?"

"When did this happen?"

"You two didn't tell me about that," Remus said.

"I proposed to Sarah when we went outside the first time."

"Oh…"

"Congratulations."

"Thanks."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: I made a new ending because my friend didn't like the old one and I didn't really like it either…


	15. Harry Potter

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Wow! So many! As you can see, my fanfic has changed its tone somewhat… I don't know why.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics_= emphasis

_italics_= thoughts

-Harry Potter-

"Push!"

Lily screamed in pain.

"I see the head!"

"Just push one more time…"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

James exclaimed, "It's a boy! Yes!"

"Here you go, Mrs. Potter. A beautiful baby boy."

!!!

(AN: This is a few days after Harry's birth.)

"Sirius, we… we want you to be Harry's godfather," James said. He and Lily were in the nursery of their new home. Sirius had come over for a visit.

Sirius's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yes," Lily said.

"Wow."

The proud parents smiled. "I can't believe we're parents," Lily said. "And this is our baby."

They both looked down at their newborn son. "He _definitely_ has your eyes," James said to his wife.

"And he looks like you, only smaller. Because you're a big baby."

"Hey! I resent that!"

"So what?"

"Um… Nothing."

"That's what I thought."

Sarah and Veronica came into the room then. "Oh, is that the baby?" Sarah cried.

"Yeah."

"Let me see." She got closer to get a better look at Harry James Potter. "Wow. Talk about family resemblance…"

Lily grinned.

"He really is a beautiful baby," Veronica said.

"Thanks. By the way, we've just told Sirius that he's Harry's godfather."

"Cool."

Veronica looked around. "Um, is _he_ going to be here…?"

"Who, Remus?"

Veronica nodded.

"I think so," Lily replied. "Not sure when."

"Oh. Okay."

!!!

Remus Lupin appeared a few hours later at the Potters' house. He knocked on the door.

!!!

"Veronica, could you get the door, please?"

"Sure, Lily."

She headed to the front of the house. She opened the door and gasped.

!!!

"Hi."

"Hi," Veronica said. "You've come to see Harry." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah."

"Follow me." Veronica turned around and walked back to the room where the others were.

Remus sighed and closed the door before following her.

!!!

"He's kind of quiet for a baby," Remus said.

"A little," Lily responded.

"And I'm his godfather!" Sirius announced in excitement.

Remus turned to him. "That's great, Padfoot."

Sarah spoke up, "Sirius and I are going to live together. We want to get used to each other before getting married."

"Have you two decided on a date for the wedding yet?"

"No. It's not going to be for a while, though."

"I see."

Remus looked at Veronica, who was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. "Veronica, can I talk to you… in private?"

She looked up.

"Please?"

"Fine."

They exited the room.

!!! 

"Veronica, it's been a year since we broke up."

Veronica looked away. "I know that."

"I hope you understand why I did what I did."

"I do. I don't like it, but I understand where you're coming from."

"Do you forgive me?"

"Of course I do. I was angry and sad for a while, but I think I'm okay with it now."

"Okay," Remus said, relieved that she wasn't angry with him. "So how've you been?"

"Fine. I have a boyfriend. His name is Gabriel." (AN: My friend said that name sounded feminine. Do you agree?)

"Oh." Remus looked uncomfortable. "How long have you two been together?"

"About two weeks."

There was a moment of silence. "Well, let's go back in and see the baby again," Remus suggested.

"Sure."

They walked back into the room to find two of their friends in an argument.

Sarah was saying, "Sirius, you want to buy a _what?_"

"A motorcycle," Sirius replied.

"Why?"

"Because. And a flying one, while I'm at it."

"Because why? And a _flying_ one?"

"Yes, a flying one. Sarah, I really want this," Sirius whined.

"Sarah, just let him have it," James said.

"You stay out of this," she snapped. "Don't encourage him."

"Okay, okay." James held up his hands. "I surrender. Just don't hurt me."

Lily laughed. "Always the comedian."

"That's why you love me."

"How do you know?"

"What else is there?"

"Maybe I just married you for your looks."

"Well, that's still a pretty good reason."

"See? Right there. Being a clown again."

Sarah turned away from her friends' conversation and looked at her fiancé. "You _really_ want this?"

"Yeah."

"But they're dangerous."

"I'll be careful. I promise. Besides, what am I going to run into, a flock of geese? Can I have it, please?"

"I don't know…"

"Please, please, please?" He got down on his knees, begging Sarah to let him have a motorcycle.

She sighed. "Fine."

Remus cleared his throat loudly, announcing to the others that he and Veronica had come back.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Erm…"

"So you're getting a motorbike, Padfoot?"

"Looks like it."

Remus asked Lily and James, "Do you have anything to eat? I'm kind of hungry."

"Yeah, sure. Sarah, can you show him where the kitchen is?"

Sarah led Remus out of the room. Sirius started dancing around. "I'm a godfather! And I'm getting a motorcycle!"

The other three in the room laughed.

!!!

"How have you been, Remus?" Sarah asked, setting out some plates and getting some food out of the pantry.

"Okay. I haven't been able to find any work."

"No one will hire you?"

"No. And it's not fair. It's perfectly reasonable, just not fair," he said, biting into a piece of bread.

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing for _you_ to be sorry about."

Sarah glanced at him.

"Has Veronica told you about this what's-his-name… uh, Gabriel?" Remus asked, trying to act nonchalant.

"Yes," Sarah replied. "You miss her, don't you?" Sarah said kindly.

Remus closed his eyes briefly. "Who wouldn't? I wish she and I could be together again, but it can't happen."

"It'll be okay," Sarah reassured him.

"Somehow, I don't think so. I mean, I know she's not mad at me anymore, so I feel a little better, but there's still this big hole inside me that she used to fill. And now she's moved on, and it hurts inside. I know it was _my _decision to end things, but I just can't help feeling like this."

"Do you think of her a lot?"

"Every time I close my eyes, I see the hurt look in her blue eyes—the look that _I_ put there when I told her we had to split up."

Sarah made a sympathetic noise. "That must hurt a lot."

"Yeah. But enough about me. How have you been?"

"Wonderful. Sirius can be hard to handle at times, but I've been doing it for years. Why? I'll never know."

Remus smiled. "Yeah, Padfoot is a little wild sometimes, but he's a good friend. He's not a _complete_ idiot."

"Are you sure about that?"

They both laughed.

!!!

The six friends were staring at Harry, waiting for the baby to do something, when a knock was heard.

"James dear, would you get that?"

"Sure, darling." James left to answer the door.

"I think he moved!" Sirius said, pointing at the infant.

!!!

"Peter! What a pleasant surprise!"

"Hello, James," Peter said. "You told me to come visit sometime, so here I am. Is the baby here yet?"

"Yeah. Harry. He's in there with everyone else," he replied, pointing behind him. "Well, come in then."

Peter entered the house and followed James.

!!!

"Wormtail!" Sirius exclaimed. "You're here."

"Yep. Is that Harry?"

"Yeah. Come here and see," Lily said.

Peter stepped closer to the baby. "He looks a lot like you two."

!!!

Someone was knocking on the door. James counted everyone in the room, puzzled. _I thought everyone was here already…_ (AN: If you've seen the episode _The One With Rachel's Sister_ on _Friends_, then you'll know what I'm talking about.)

"We're certainly getting a lot of visitors today," Lily commented.

James went to see who could possibly be at the door. He opened it to find a tall man with blond hair and brown eyes. "Yes?"

"Is Veronica Kent here?"

"Oh. You must be… Gabriel, right?"

"Yes. Gabriel Anderson. So she _is_ here?"

"Oh! Sorry. Come in."

!!!

"Gabriel!"

Remus looked up and saw Veronica hugging someone. _Gabriel? Who is—? Oh…_

The others gave him sympathetic looks as he stood up and went over to the newcomer. Veronica looked apprehensively between the two men.

"Hi," Remus said, "I'm Remus. Nice to meet you." He shook the man's hand.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: This story is not even about what it was originally about anymore… Eh. I don't care. I just _had_ to continue writing about the characters' futures.


	16. Beautiful

Author's Note: Another new chapter that I just threw into the middle of the fic.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics _= emphasis

-Beautiful-

"Isn't she beautiful?"

Sarah stared at the large black object in front of her. "Beautiful," she repeated, trying to see what Sirius saw.

Sirius smiled happily and mounted his new motorcycle. "Want a ride?"

"I'd rather Apparate, thank you very much."

And… there it was! Sirius Black's famous pout. "Oh, come on. You're my girl."

Sarah frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I actually don't know," Sirius said, "but I want you to come with me. Please?"

The blonde witch shook her head. "No."

"I'll take you out to dinner."

"No," she stated flatly.

"You're not hungry?"

"Sirius, I am a grown witch. I can make my own dinner, or I can take myself out."

"Hmm." Sirius paused to consider what his fiancée had just said. "You'll have a fascinating conversation partner then."

A smile tugged at Sarah's lips. "Yes."

Sirius ran a hand through his hair. "Wouldn't I be more interesting?"

"Of course not, darling." Sarah tried not to laugh. "You're the only person who has ever thought that you were at all interesting."

"I'm not afraid to hex you, you know."

Sarah walked forward until she was standing right by the dangerous-looking contraption. "Yes, you are," she said, giving him a light kiss on the lips. "If you're not back by nightfall, then you are not getting in the house." She turned and began walking away.

Sirius called after her, "I _am_ rather skilled with a wand, you know. Trust me, I'd be able to get in."

"True, but would you _really_ want to face me after not complying with my wishes?" Sarah continued toward the house.

"You're smirking, aren't you?" Sirius said loudly.

"My, you're perceptive!" Sarah laughed. "I love you, you pompous lunatic."

The dark-haired wizard replied in mock puzzlement, "You love James?" The phrase Sarah had used was certainly an apt description of Mr. Potter.

"Who loves me?" asked a voice from behind him.

Sirius looked over his shoulder at his best friend. "Why, I do, of course." He laughed. "What do you need, Prongs?"

James pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled. "I need to borrow your fiancée."

"Oh? And why would that be?"

"We have an assignment."

"I'm not invited?" Sirius said. "How rude."

"You'll be doing something else soon enough, mate. And it'll be plenty dangerous." James patted his friend on the shoulder. "This mission is only for Remus, me, and Sarah." He looked into Sirius's eyes. "Yeah, I know," he said softly. "I'll take care of her."

"Dangerous?" inquired Sarah, having just crossed the lawn. "Exactly how dangerous is his assignment going to be?"

Sirius grinned cockily. "Sarah dear, I live for danger."

"I know." Sarah grinned in a very good imitation of her fiancé. "You live with me, don't you?"

James raised an amused eyebrow. He coughed. "She's got you there, Padfoot."

"Oh, shut up."

"Will I be back in time for supper?" asked Sarah.

James smiled. "Yes, but you'll have to leave again at midnight."

Sarah nodded. She Apparated to the headquarters with James, leaving Sirius alone. He leaned his head back to look up at the sky. It was beautiful, a lovely shade of blue. Some puffy clouds drifted around aimlessly.

He revved up his beloved motorcycle and took off.

!!!

"I wish you didn't have to leave," Lily murmured, her face buried in James's shoulder. "I want to go with you."

James smiled, rubbing her back gently. "Love, you know you can't leave Harry alone."

"He looks like you more and more every day."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing."

Lily gave a short laugh. "Bad, James. Definitely bad."

"Lily, it's almost midnight."

"So?" Lily stubbornly refused to let go.

"Lily Evans Potter, you cannot be selfish right now." James pulled back so he could look his wife in the eye. "You want Voldemort gone, don't you? You want to destroy him so that Harry won't have to deal with him in the future, right?"

Lily was staring at the neck of his robes. "Promise I'll still have a husband in the morning?"

"Always." James pried Lily's fingers from his robes and walked through the doorway to the bedroom.

Lily leaned in the doorway and said, "I love you, you prat, and don't you forget it."

"I won't," James replied. "See you in a bit." He walked over to Harry's crib. "Hey, Harry. Daddy's going out for a little while."

Harry stared up at his father with his large green eyes.

"Oh, come on, don't look at me like that. I promise I'll be back. After all, I still have to teach you that trick I told you about."

The child was still looking up at James with an expression that made James feel very, very guilty.

James picked up his son and gave him a little squeeze. "Honestly, you're as bad as her," he said, looking at Lily.

"Promise him that he'll still have a father in the morning." Lily gazed steadily at the pair. "You can break any promise to me, but you cannot break a promise to Harry."

"Lily." James set Harry back into the crib. "I promise I'll be back tomorrow."

Harry blew a spit bubble at him.

"Yes, of course I'll tell Uncle Padfoot he's a prat." James smiled. "Goodnight, son."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: I like it, although I'm wondering if my characters are consistent. After all, it _has _been quite a while since I started this fic.


	17. The End aka Flashbacks

Author's Note: Don't worry about the chapter title. It's not the end of the _story_. Just the end of something… The rest of this fanfic is going to be mostly drama. I have no idea why. Just go with it. Oh, some of the flashbacks are ones I thought of just now, and some are from previous chapters.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

= begin flashback

&&& = another flashback

= end flashback

[…] = time

_italics_= emphasis

_italics_= thoughts

-The End a.k.a. Flashbacks-

"Sirius would rather die than betray us."

"He's planning to go into hiding himself."

"James, Lily. I'm just worried about you. I mean no disrespect towards Sirius Black," the old wizard said.

"We know, Professor Dumbledore," Lily said.

"Sirius _will_ be our Secret-Keeper," James declared firmly.

"I'm sure the spy is someone close to you. You're positive it isn't him?"

"Yes."

"Well, then it must be someone else. The question is, who?"

!!!

The Fidelius Charm was about to be performed. Sirius was standing, looking very thoughtful.

"Wait!" he said as James raised his wand.

"What? What is it?"

"Look, Voldemort's bound to come after me. What if he gets the secret out of me? You have to switch to someone else. Someone he will never suspect."

"Who then?" Lily asked.

"Hmm… How about… Peter?" Sirius suggested.

Lily pondered. "Well, I'd have to agree that he isn't likely to be suspected."

"So we're going with Peter then?" James asked.

"Yes."

"All right." James wrote a short message on a piece of parchment. "We'll owl him."

!!! __

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off—"

Lily ran. _No, no, no. This can't be happening. It can't. It's not real._

[1st year]

Lily was at King's Cross station. The problem was, she couldn't find platform nine and three-quarters. _I don't think this is right. There's no fraction of a platform. _

She pushed her trolley to the area between platforms nine and ten. _Oh, where is it?_ She glanced at her watch. She only had ten minutes left.

She was about to give up when she noticed a girl about her age with a trunk and a cage with an owl inside it standing next to a woman who must have been her mother. Lily remembered that first years were allowed to bring owls, so she approached them. "Um… excuse me?"

"Yes?"

"Would you happen to know… erm…" Lily couldn't think of a way to phrase her question.

The woman glanced at Lily's things and guessed what the problem was. "You need to know how to get onto the platform?"

"Yes."

"You're a first year too?" the blonde girl next to her asked.

Lily nodded.

"Follow me then."

The girl ran straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten and then disappeared. Lily, not knowing what else to do, did the same.

When she came out the other side, she found the girl waiting to see if she had gotten through okay. "Now we need to get on the train. By the way, my name's Sarah."

"I'm Lily."

The two eleven-year-olds walked to the Hogwarts Express. When they were almost there, Lily tripped and fell into someone.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

"Sorry," Lily said, brushing off her clothes. She looked up and saw two boys her age. The one she had bumped into had messy black hair and glasses. "Sorry," she repeated.

"Whatever," said the boy.

"Come on, Lily," Sarah said, pulling on Lily's sleeve.

They got on the train and started looking for an empty compartment. They found one and sat down.

A few minutes later, the compartment door opened. A girl with long, dark hair and blue eyes walked in. "Oh! I didn't know anyone was in here. I just couldn't find an empty compartment…"

"You can stay here if you like," Lily offered.

"Thanks." The girl sat down next to Lily, across from Sarah. "I'm Veronica."

"Sarah."

"Lily."

The train started moving, and the girls settled in. All of a sudden, three boys burst into the compartment.

The girls just stared at them. One boy looked at Lily and said, "Oh, it's you. The girl who crashed into me."

"Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

"Well, how else am I supposed to remember you? I don't know who you are."

"Yeah, well, I don't even _want_ to know who you are."

"James Potter. Now you know, whether you want to or not."

"I'm Lily Evans. I'm just telling you so you won't keep thinking of me as 'the girl who crashed into me'."

"Come on, Sirius. Let's go," he said to the boy behind him. The two walked out of the compartment. James came back. "Remus," he said, pulling the brown-haired boy's sleeve. Remus had been half staring at Veronica and half trying to apologize for his new friend's behavior. He realized what was going on and followed James and Sirius.

"That Potter boy is so rude," Lily said when they had left.

&&&

[3rd year]

Lily, Veronica, and Sarah were sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, ready to begin their third year at Hogwarts. Remus and Sirius came in.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Shh… James and Peter are going to do something, and we want to know if we can hear it from all the way back here."

"But—"

"Wait, wait…" Sirius whispered. He and Remus listened intently for a minute, and then heard a muffled explosion. "Yes!" They high-fived each other.

"What did they do?" Sarah asked curiously.

Remus replied, "They blew up something in Malfoy's compartment."

"Oh."

At that moment, James and Peter appeared, sliding open the compartment door. "Hey," James greeted his friends. "Did you hear it?"

"Yup."

"Cool." He looked at the girls. "What are _you_ doing here?" he asked.

Lily replied, "It's _our_ compartment. We were here first. The question is, what are _you_ doing here?"

"Nothing."

"Could you please just leave?"

"What if we don't?"

"Then I'll be forced to kill you."

"That's not a good enough reason."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Then how about I tell everyone about—?" She got up and whispered in James's ear, "Mr. Stuffy."

"You wouldn't," James replied worriedly. He didn't want anyone to find out about his beloved teddy bear that he still slept with. Peter, Remus, and Sirius knew about it, of course, but he knew embarrassing things about them as well. Lily had seen James talking to Mr. Stuffy one morning when he couldn't sleep and had gone down to the common room to spend the night. Unfortunately for James, Lily had woken up early that morning and witnessed his discussion about school with the teddy bear.

"I would."

"No, you wouldn't."

"Yes, I would."

"You don't have the guts."

"You think so, huh?" She turned to address everyone else in the compartment. "Guess what? Potter—" James clamped his hand over Lily's mouth. "Okay, okay, I believe you. You got guts, Evans." He released her.

"Thank you."

The four boys left. Veronica and Sarah were, needless to say, confused. Lily didn't tell them what was going on because she had promised James six months ago that she wouldn't tell anyone.

&&&

[6th year]

James turned to Lily and put on his most charming smile.

"No way, Potter."

"Oh, come on, Ev... Lily."

"I said no."

"But I'm really tired."

"No!" The others watched, amused, as Lily continued to refuse James's pleas.

"Please?"

"No, no, no!" How many times do I have to say it before you get it through that thick skull of yours?"

"Come on... at least for a few minutes... my feet are killing me."

Lily shook her head vigorously.

"Lily! Please?" He put on a sad puppy face.

"No, no, and how about... no?"

"Please? I'm begging you here," James said, getting down on his knees. That was hard for him to do, considering that there were seven big, heavy trunks all over the compartment.

"Potter! I said no!" Lily yelled angrily.

"But..."

"No," she said, with a tone of finality in her voice.

James sighed. "Fine," he replied. He stood up and turned around to face Sarah, Sirius, and Peter. Lily, thinking he had given up, relaxed and looked out the window. Suddenly, two strong arms were around her waist, and she was lifted into the air. Then, she was seated again, but she was now on someone's lap.

"Potter! Just what do you think you're doing?" she shrieked.

"Sitting," James replied calmly.

Lily threw up her hands in exasperation. She elbowed her new "seat" in the stomach before crossing her arms and frowning. He responded by grinning, putting his arms around her waist, and pulling her closer to him so she wouldn't fall off his lap. Sarah giggled at the sight of her flustered friend.

She heard a scream of pain, then nothing. _Oh, God. James. He was one of the last people I thought I'd fall for. Now he's dead. Voldemort killed him. _Tears blurred her vision as she ran. _I won't let him kill Harry. I won't. Not _my _son. _James's_ son.__ He will _not _die._

[2nd year]

Lily had decided to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas. She didn't want to deal with Petunia, who was being particularly nasty to her nowadays. Her parents were going on a trip anyway. Sarah was staying too. Veronica wanted to spend more time with her mother, who had been ill lately.

Unfortunately for Lily, a certain Mr. Potter was staying for the holidays as well. His parents had also decided to go on a trip. James didn't mind too much, as it gave him more time to explore the castle and find more secret tunnels and things. Sirius was also staying, but Remus and Peter had gone home for Christmas.

Lily and Sarah were sitting in front of the fireplace the night of Christmas Eve. Their conversation was unexpectedly interrupted by James and Sirius.

"Hi!" they said, jumping in front of the girls.

"Potter! Black! What do you think you're doing?" Lily shouted, outraged.

"We're just wishing you girls a Merry Christmas," Sirius said innocently.

"Okay, what are you _really_ doing here?" Sarah asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"We're going to make sure you girls have plenty of holiday spirit," James replied. He and Sirius pointed their wands at Lily and Sarah.

The girls looked down and screamed. They were red and green all over. Lily, whose hair and eyes were normally red and green, respectively, now had green hair and red. Sarah's hair was striped red and green. The girls' clothes were colored in patches of the two colors.

Lily chased James around the room, aiming at him with her wand, but missing every time she tried to do something to him. Frustrated, she put her wand in her pocket and just tried to attack James without magic.

&&&

[4th year]

"Potter!" The angry yell was heard throughout Gryffindor Tower.

James was sitting in the common room with Sirius, Remus, and Peter. "Looks like Miss Evans found her Christmas present," he said.

A fourteen-year-old red-haired girl came down the steps in a fury. She stomped right over to where James was. "What… is… this?" Lily asked through clenched teeth. She was holding something. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was annoying. It was a green and pink furball that kept squeaking and humming. It also sprayed orange and blue ink.

"It's your present."

"_Why_ did you give me a present? And… ugh, get this thing away from me!" She dropped it on James's lap. "I am covered in orange and blue ink! And my dormitory is too!"

"I thought it would be funny."

"Well, it isn't."

"It is to me."

"It is, huh?" Lily said. She got an idea. She pulled out her wand. "Let's see how you like being orange and blue." She waved the wand, and James suddenly had orange and blue striped skin. He looked like an oddly colored tiger.

He stared at his hands, then ran to a mirror. "You're dead, Evans!" he shouted when he saw his reflection. He started chasing Lily around the common room while his friends watched, wishing they had snacks so they could enjoy the show even more.

&&&

[5th year]

Lily had gone home for Christmas. She wanted to spend some time with her parents, even though her sister hated her.

On Christmas morning, three owls flew into her room. They allowed Lily to remove the packages they were carrying, then flew away.

Two of the packages were from Sarah and Veronica, but she didn't know whom the third package was from. It didn't have a label on it. She decided to open that one first.

She ripped off the wrapping. "Aah!" she screamed as something jumped out of the box. An icy chipmunk jumped onto her bed and there was soon a patch of ice in the middle of Lily's bed. Several others were running around the room, freezing her things. Lily reached for her wand and froze them in place (even though they were already frozen, since they were icy). She picked up the chipmunks and put them back into the box. She noticed a note at the bottom of the box.

_How'd you like your Christmas present, Evans?_

"_Potter_…" Lily said angrily. She sealed up the box again and called for her owl. She tied the box to its leg and sent it to James's house.

_Why? He wants to kill Harry, but why? This all seems so familiar._

__

[6th year]

"And then he came… and—"

"And what?"

"I don't know. I can't remember." Lily gasped. "Wait, I remember now. I… I died."

"You died?"

Lily nodded.

"What happened to the baby?"

"He was still alive when I was killed. I have a feeling he _stayed_ alive." She stopped talking and looked down.

James could tell that she was really upset about this. "Hey, come here," he said. He pulled her to him and whispered, "It's okay, Lily. It's just a dream."

"I think it's more than that. I think it really _is_ going to happen."

"Well, you said you were older. So maybe when the time comes, you'll be ready for it."

"Thanks," Lily said, managing a small grin.

&&&

[6th year]

"I remembered who the familiar person was."

"Well, who was it then?"

"James, it was… it was you."

"Me?" James said, his brow furrowed.

"Yes."

"So I died," he said slowly.

Lily nodded. "I remember the whole dream now. We… we were… married. Voldemort—that's who the evil person was—was after us. We were in hiding, but somehow he found out where we were."

"Voldemort."

"Yes. Voldemort. The Dark Lord. You-Know-Who. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"He sure has a lot of names for someone who must not be named."

"James."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry," James said, "Go on."

"Harry, the baby… he was ours. He looked just like you, but with my eyes. Voldemort killed you right after you told me to take Harry and run. I got in his way as he tried to kill Harry. There was a bright flash and then I was dead. Merlin, do you realize how scary that is? To see yourself die?"

_My dream.__ I haven't thought about it for years. It's coming true. Just like I said it would._

__

[6th year]

The Gryffindor sixth years seated themselves. A "poof" sound was heard coming from the Slytherin table. Everyone turned to look at Malfoy, who was standing up.

"What? What is it?" He looked down and screamed. He had long, curly hair and a dress. The dress had cow spots and a picture of Snape's teddy bear on it. He had a "Kick Me" sign on his back. He had bunny ears. His skin was orange and his hair was pink. His clothes were covered with bits of food. Flaming squirrels were running around his feet. A rain cloud was above him. He was standing in a pool of slime.

Everyone started laughing. Even the teachers were chuckling. Professor Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling more than usual.

Sarah turned to Lily and said, "I thought you already did your prank for today."

"I did," she replied, puzzled.

"Well, who did it then?"

"I did."

They turned to look at James. "You?" Lily asked.

"Yeah."

"You just lost the bet."

"I know."

"Why'd you do it? Today was the last day."

James said, "Malfoy called you a you-know-what. I had to do _something_."

"Oh. Thank you," she said quietly.

"I figured if I was going to lose, I might as well do it right."

&&&

[7th year]

"Hey, Lily, can I talk to you for a sec?" James asked. "_Alone_," he added, looking pointedly at his friends. They grumbled, but went up the stairs to their respective dorm rooms.

"What's up?" Lily asked.

"I wanted to tell you something."

"Tell me what?"

"Well, we've been together for like a year and a half now, right?"

"Yeah…"

"And, well, I wanted to say… Well, what I mean is…"

"James! Get on with it already!" Lily shouted in exasperation.

"Okay! I love you, all right?"

Lily took a quick step back in surprise. "You… love me?"

"Well, yeah. Of course I do. How could I not?"

Lily grinned. "I love you too."

"Can we come down now?" Sirius called from the stairs.

James and Lily laughed as their friends enveloped them in a hug.

&&&

[18 years old]

James and Lily were eating dinner in a fancy restaurant. They were halfway through the meal when James began clearing his throat repeatedly and sweating profusely.

Lily noticed this and asked him, "James, is something wrong?"

"No," James said quickly.

"Well, then why are you acting so nervous?"

"I… I have something to ask you."

"Well, what is it?" Lily replied, grinning slightly at the look on her boyfriend's face.

"Um… er… Well…"

"James."

"Oh! Yeah. Uh…" James got down on one knee in front of Lily and removed a small box from his pocket.

Lily's eyes went wide.

"Lily Evans, will you marry me?"

All eyes were on the couple now. Even their waiter was watching them expectantly. Veronica, Remus, Sarah, and Sirius, sitting in a nearby booth, stared at their friends. They had already known that James was going to "pop the question" tonight. They were all grinning.

"Oh… James…" Lily said. "Yes."

"Really?"

"Didn't you hear me? Yes!"

Everyone in the restaurant cheered and applauded.

&&&

[19 years old]

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony."

"Therefore if any man can give any just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him speak now, or forever hold his peace."

"I have a reason!" Sirius exclaimed.

"What?"

"Naw, I'm just kidding. Go ahead."

Everyone turned his or her attention back to the minister. He asked James, "Do you, James Potter, take this woman to be your wedded wife? Will you love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her, in sickness and in health, so long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"And do you, Lily Evans, take this man to be your wedded husband? Will you love him, comfort him, honor, and keep him, in sickness and in health, so long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

_James was so good to me. Now he's dead and I will be too._

!!!

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl… stand aside, now…."

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead—"

[20 years old]

"Sirius, we… we want you to be Harry's godfather," James said. He and Lily were in the nursery of their new home. Sirius had come over for a visit.

Sirius's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yes," Lily said.

"Wow."

The proud parents smiled. "I can't believe we're parents," Lily said. "And this is our baby."

They both looked down at their newborn son. "He _definitely_ has your eyes," James said to his wife.

"And he looks like you, only smaller. Because you're a big baby."

"Hey! I resent that!"

"So what?"

"Um… Nothing."

"That's what I thought."

Sarah and Veronica came into the room then. "Oh, is that the baby?" Sarah cried.

"Yeah."

"Let me see." She got closer to get a better look at Harry James Potter. "Wow. Talk about family resemblance…"

Lily grinned.

"He really is a beautiful baby," Veronica said.

"Thanks. By the way, we've just told Sirius that he's Harry's godfather."

_I'm going to die. Harry. What will happen to him? He's going to live. He has to. That's what I predicted. But who will take care of him? Sirius. He's Harry's godfather. He is going to marry Sarah, and they'll raise Harry._

"Not Harry! Please… have mercy… have mercy…."

The shrill voice of the Dark Lord was laughing. Lily was screaming.

And suddenly, Lily Evans Potter was no more.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Aah! They're dead! The next chapter will be about how Lily's and James's deaths affect their friends.


	18. Effects

Author's Note: This chapter focuses more on Sarah.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

= begin flashback

&&& = another flashback

= end flashback

[…] = time

_italics _= emphasis

_italics _= thoughts

-Effects-

Sirius was riding his flying motorcycle to Peter's hiding place. When he got there, he discovered that Peter wasn't there. _Where could he be?_ He then headed to the Potters' hiding place.

!!!

Hagrid had just pulled Harry out of the debris. He noticed something coming toward him. It was Sirius, on his motorbike.

Sirius looked at the remains of the house and realized what had happened. _Oh, God. Lily and James. Dead._ Sirius turned white and started shaking. _I did it. I killed them. I told them to switch to Peter, and he betrayed them. Harry. He doesn't have parents anymore. And he's only a year old._ "Give Harry to me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him."

"I can't let you have him. Dumbledore told me Harry's ter go ter his aunt and uncle's."

"But they didn't have anything to do with Lily and James! They won't care for him!"

"I have me orders."

Sirius sighed. "All right. Take my motorcycle. I won't need it anymore."

Hagrid left.

"_Peter,_" Sirius growled.

!!!

"Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?"

Suddenly, the street was blown apart. Twelve Muggles were dead.

_How could I? How could _he? Sirius started laughing at the insaneness of it all. His best friends were dead, he was being framed for a crime he didn't commit, and all because he thought of using Peter as a bluff.

Twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad came to take him away.

!!!

Sarah came downstairs the next morning, yawning. She clumsily fixed herself breakfast, then sat down at the kitchen table. An owl flew into the room and dropped the _Daily Prophet_ on the table next to Sarah.

She picked up the paper and looked at the headline. She gasped. Her cup fell to the floor, forgotten, then shattered. "No, it can't be." The headline said "Lily and James Potter Murdered—Baby Harry Survives." (AN: I couldn't think of a better title.)

The blonde woman quickly scanned the article. "Oh, my God." _Dead? They're dead? This isn't possible._ She quickly turned the page to see if there was anymore information about the Potters. She was shocked to see a picture of her fiancé on the next page underneath the words "Sirius Black Arrested."

"_What?_ Arrested?" She read the article, then dropped the paper and started pacing. "No, no, no, no, no. Peter? And a dozen Muggles? No, Sirius couldn't have done that."

Sirius came into the bedroom, pulling on his gloves. "Sarah, I'm going to see how Lily and James are doing," he said.

Sarah looked up from the book she'd been reading. "Okay. You're not taking that motorcycle, are you?"

"Of course I am."

Sarah sighed. "Fine. Just be careful, okay?"

"Always."

"Uh-huh. Sure…"

"What? I'm careful."

"Oh, please. You don't even know what careful means."

"Yes, I do."

"Then what does it mean?" Sarah asked, one eyebrow raised in skepticism.

"Er… Can I pass on that question?"

"Just go before I'm forced to kill you."

Sirius grinned. "Bye. I love you."

_There is no way he could have done this, _Sarah thought. _He couldn't hurt his friends. He couldn't._

"This is crazy. I'm going to find out for myself what's going on." She grabbed her cloak, then headed out the door.

!!!

"What's going on?" Sarah was at what was left of the Potters' hiding place. It was in ruins. She was asking a Ministry official about what had happened. "They say Harry's alive. Where is he?"

"He has been taken to his aunt and uncle's home, I believe."

Sarah was shocked. "What? The Dursleys? Petunia hated Lily. She's not going to like Harry."

"How do you know that?"

"I know it because I am… _was_ Lily's best friend."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Do you know anything about the Sirius Black situation?"

"Not much. Why? Did you know him?"

"He's my fiancé."

"Today is not a good day for you, is it?"

"Sarah!"

Sarah turned around to see who had called her name. Veronica was fighting her way through the crowd. "Hey," she said when she finally reached her friend.

"Hi."

"Merlin, it looks even worse than it does in the pictures," she said, looking at the remains of the house.

"Yeah."

Veronica looked at her friend. "I heard about Sirius," she said. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know yet."

"We just lost four of our best friends."

"Sirius couldn't have killed Peter. He just couldn't have."

"I don't want to believe it either," Veronica said gently.

"I have to find out exactly what's going on. This is crazy. There are all these rumors flying around, and I have no idea what to believe," Sarah said helplessly.

Gabriel appeared next to Veronica. "Hey. This place looks really bad."

Sarah said, "I cannot believe that James and Lily are dead. How is this possible? They were such wonderful people. And great friends."

"How did Harry survive?" Veronica asked. "I knew he was special, but nobody has ever escaped from Voldemort. And he was just a baby. Only a year old."

"I'm not sure. It's a mystery. Maybe we'll never know. What matters right now is that Harry is alive. That is the only thing that is important."

Gabriel, gazing at the ruins, said, "Terrible, what happened to them. I'm sorry. I know you two were close to the Potters."

"Thanks."

He continued, "What about that Sirius Black, eh? Horrible person. Must have been insane and very skilled in the Dark Arts to kill all those people." (AN: Gabriel _met_ Sirius, but he didn't know he was with Sarah.)

Sarah turned on Gabriel. Her normally warm brown eyes were now flashing with anger. "Don't judge people you don't know," she said coldly. She turned around and walked away.

"What? What did I say?" Gabriel asked, confused.

Veronica sighed and looked at her boyfriend in exasperation. "She and Sirius were engaged," she explained. She turned away from him and chased after her friend. "Sarah!"

"I am such an idiot," Gabriel said to himself, groaning at his own stupidity.

!!!

Sarah had reached the street where Sirius had allegedly killed all those people. She stood there for a minute, staring at the huge crater in the middle of the street. _I need answers, and I think I know just where to find them._

Veronica, who had come up behind her, said, "Sarah, Gabriel didn't mean what he said."

"Didn't he?"

"He didn't know you two were engaged."

"Don't make excuses for him," Sarah replied. "What he said is what he _really_ thinks of Sirius."

"He only knew Sirius for a few hours, and that was over a year ago," Veronica said, trying to calm her friend.

"Why are you still with him?"

"Because I love him."

Sarah turned around. "You do?"

"Yes."

"Remus still loves you, you know."

"I know. But that doesn't change anything. He made it clear that our relationship was over. _He _ended it. I am not going to sit around my whole life waiting for a man who refuses to be involved with me."

Sarah sighed. "I understand that. I'm sorry. I just… I was used to seeing you with Remus, that's all."

"Oh."

"Look, I have to go. I need to find out exactly what happened here. To see if there is any chance of saving Sirius."

"All right. Good luck," Veronica replied, hugging her. "I hope everything works out okay."

"So do I."

!!!

[A few days later]

Sarah had arrived at Hogwarts. She thought of her experiences at the school that she had left three years ago. (AN: That would make her 21.)

[4th year]

"You fancy Sirius Black?!"

"Say it louder, Lily, I don't think Slytherin heard you," Sarah replied.

"Sorry. But what, why, when, how?"

Veronica said, "I think Lily's trying to ask several questions at once again. Failing miserably, I might add."

"Oh, be quiet," Lily replied. "Okay, Sarah. Now, _when_ did this happen?"

"Today."

"Today?"

"Yes. In Divination."

"_Divination_?"

"Lily, stop repeating what I say."

"Oh. Sorry about that. Go on, then."

"I don't know what happened. I was just sitting there, and completely ignoring Professor Trelawny, as usual, when… Well, I was looking around and then I saw Sirius, and…"

"Of all the people for you to fancy… Why'd it have to Potter's best friend?"

Veronica said, "Lily, James really isn't _that_ bad, is he?"

"Yes, he is!" Lily exclaimed vehemently.

"How so?"

"Well, this Christmas, he gave me this furry thing that sprayed orange and blue ink everywhere."

"Oh, so _that's_ why the room looks different," Sarah said.

&&&

[6th year]

"Hey, Sarah?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you wanna, er… go steady?"

"Sure."

_Well, that was simple. _"Okay," Sirius replied.

"You _still_ look funny."

"You know what? Forget I asked you anything."

"No! I was just kidding."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So was I. I think."

"You think? That's a first." Sarah giggled.

Indignant, Sirius said loudly, "Hey! I've thought before."

"I wouldn't have guessed."

"Some girlfriend you are," Sirius said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Oh, you know you love me."

"Let's not get carried away here."

"Shut up and kiss me."

"I can do that."

She took a deep breath, then proceeded toward the castle.

!!!

Professor McGonagall was halfway through her lesson when she heard a knock on her door. "Come in," she said. She was surprised to see Sarah enter the room.

"Miss Johnson, what brings you here?"

"I need to speak with Professor Dumbledore, but I don't know the password for his office."

"Oh, yes. You'll be wanting to speak to him about the Potters."

"And Sirius Black."

"Follow me, Miss Johnson," she said, leading Sarah out of the room. She turned around and glared at her class of fifth years. "You will sit still and do your work quietly, _or else_," she threatened. Since the students really didn't want to find out what the "or else" meant, they turned their attention back to their books.

!!!

McGonagall led Sarah down a corridor. "Miss Johnson—"

"Sarah. Please, call me Sarah."

"Sarah," McGonagall corrected herself, "I know you were close to the Potters. I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

"What I cannot believe is the situation with Sirius Black. How could a boy like that grow up to be a man who could do something so horrible?"

"I really hope he didn't. We're engaged to be married, you know," Sarah replied, showing McGonagall the ring on her finger.

"Oh. No, I hadn't heard. You're probably the one having the hardest time with this, aren't you?"

"I guess so."

"Well, here we are," McGonagall said. "Chocolate Frogs." The stone gargoyle sprang to life. "I hope you find the answers you're looking for, Sarah."

"So do I."

!!!

"Professor Dumbledore?"

Dumbledore looked up from his desk. "Hello, Sarah. I assume you're here to discuss the recent events that have taken place."

"Yes. I need to know everything you know about Lily and James's deaths, and whatever you know about how Sirius is involved."

"Very well. Have a seat."

Sarah sat in the chair across from Dumbledore.

"The Potters knew Voldemort was after them. Are you familiar with the Fidelius Charm?"

"Yes. Isn't it that one about keeping secrets?"

"Sirius Black (AN: Does anyone else find it ironic that Sirius is the brightest star, and in the character's name it's put with the last name Black?) was the Potter's Secret-Keeper."

"The day it happened, he told me he was going to check on them."

"Ah."

Sarah bit her lip. "About Harry…"

"I think it is best that he remain with his aunt and uncle."

"But they're horrible people!"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you why, but Harry really should stay with his relatives. It's for his own safety."

Sarah sighed. "Well, if you think it's best, I can't argue. What about Peter?"

"The Muggle witnesses were questioned. What they said makes it appear that Sirius killed Peter and twelve Muggles."

"You don't believe he did it, do you?"

"I believe it is possible, but I hope it is not true."

Sarah smiled. "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

"However, what _I_ believe does not affect what others believe. And what they believe is that Sirius Black is guilty."

"He wouldn't have betrayed Lily and James," Sarah said fiercely. "He couldn't have. Do you know what the last thing he said to me was? He said, 'I love you.' He wouldn't kill his best friends."

An owl flew into the room. Dumbledore removed the letter from its leg and sent it on its way.

"What is it?" Sarah asked.

Dumbledore read the letter. He looked at Sarah, his face solemn. His light blue eyes had lost their familiar twinkle. "Sirius has been sent to Azkaban."

"What?" _No, no, it can't be. No. This isn't happening._

"I'm sorry, Miss Johnson."

Intense sadness creeping into her voice, Sarah whispered, "Two more months. The wedding was scheduled for two months from today."

!!!

[Meanwhile…]

_Don't think about Sarah. Don't think about Sarah. If you do, you'll never get out of here. The dementors will destroy you. Think about something else. Think about the fact that you're innocent. Think about the fact that Peter framed you. Think about what he did to Lily and James,_ Sirius thought to himself. He was being taken to the wizard prison Azkaban.

As he was being taken in, he forced all thoughts of the best thing in his life out of his mind.

!!!

"I'm not getting married," Sarah realized. "He's gone."

Dumbledore remained silent.

"Why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this?" Sarah stood and started pacing back and forth, oblivious to everything around her. Her voice took on a frantic tone. "My best friends are dead. Their son is going to live with those wretched people. Peter is dead (AN: Supposedly…). The man I was going to marry is in prison. The only other friends I have left are… One's a werewolf who is… who-knows-where, and the other one is wrapped up in a man who is completely wrong for her!"

Dumbledore spoke up. "Sarah, please calm down."

"Calm down?! My whole world is gone, and you want me to calm down?"

"Yes."

Sarah stared at the old wizard for a minute. "I'm sorry, Professor. I just—"

He held up a hand. "It's perfectly all right, Miss Johnson. I understand your position. This tragedy will most definitely be hardest on you."

"_Miss Johnson_," Sarah said, looking at her hands, "In sixty days I would have been _Mrs. Black._" She remembered something and looked up. "Professor, about Sirius's motorcycle…"

"Hagrid has it at the moment, I believe."

"I'll go ask him for it then."

!!!

Rubeus Hagrid was in his hut, about to sit down to consume his midday meal when he heard a knock on his door.

He sighed and went to answer it. "Sarah Johnson!" he exclaimed, surprised to see the former student.

"Hello, Hagrid," Sarah said, trying to smile.

"What in blazes are you doing here?"

"Dumbledore told me you had Sirius's motorcycle. I… I'd like to have it back."

"It's 'round back." He led Sarah around to the back of his house. "There it is."

Sarah stared at the motorcycle, remembering how much Sirius had wanted it.

[20 years old]

"Sirius, you want to buy a _what?_"

"A motorcycle."

"Why?"

"Because. And a flying one, while I'm at it."

"Because why? And a _flying_ one?"

"Yes, a flying one. Sarah, I really want this," Sirius whined.

"Sarah, just let him have it," James said.

"You stay out of this," she snapped. "Don't encourage him."

"Okay, okay." James held up his hands. "I surrender. Just don't hurt me."

Lily laughed. "Always the comedian."

"That's why you love me."

"How do you know?"

"What else is there?"

"Maybe I just married you for your looks."

"Well, that's still a pretty good reason."

"See? Right there. Being a clown again."

Sarah turned away from her friends' conversation and looked at her fiancé. "You _really_ want this?"

"Yeah."

"But they're dangerous."

"I'll be careful. I promise. Besides, what am I going to run into, a flock of geese? Can I have it, please?"

"I don't know…"

"Please, please, please?" He got down on his knees, begging Sarah to let him have a motorcycle.

She sighed. "Fine."

Hagrid interrupted her thoughts. "I don't mean anything by it," he said, "but why would a nice girl like you be involved with a man who would betray his best friend?"

She looked up at the giant of a man and replied, "You have no idea how tired I am of hearing that."

Hagrid looked embarrassed. "Sorry."

Sarah started circling the bike. "He wasn't a bad man, you know." She spoke distractedly, circling the bike. "He was a good man. A wonderful man. The man who loved me. The man I loved. He was a clown. Never serious." She smiled weakly at the pun. "Sirius Black was my love, my world. And now he's gone." She looked away from the motorcycle. "We were going to get married. Just two more months. And now, that's not going to happen." She looked at Hagrid. "If he did do this," she said, "_If_ he killed those people, then he wasn't the same man. Not the one I just described. I don't know exactly what happened that night, but I _do_ know that whoever killed those people was _not_ who I fell in love with."

!!!

[Meanwhile…]

Remus Lupin was alone in the room he had rented in an inn. He was sitting at the small table in the room, which was covered with photographs of his friends. There was a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ on the bed. It was the one with the headline that Sarah had seen three days ago.

_James, Lily, Peter. All dead. Because of Sirius. How could he have done this?_

_Maybe he didn't._

_What?_

_Maybe he was framed._

_Why am I having a conversation with myself? _(AN: Hehe. It's Remus's turn to do the insane conversation with himself thing.)

_Don't know. Don't care. The point is, Sirius was not a bad guy._

_I can't know that for sure._

_He was one of your best friends. One of your only friends. You can't just write him off as a killer. He did something illegal for you. That's how good a friend he was._

_Exactly. _Illegal._ He did something illegal as a teenager, he could have done this. Besides, all the evidence points to his being the murderer. _

_He is innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until proven innocent. _

_But he _has_ been proven guilty. _

_Not in _your_ mind. _

_Your?_

_Our._

_But it's one mind. There's only one person involved here. _

_Fine, _my _mind._ This_ mind. Happy now?_

_No._

_Look, just trust your feelings. Ignore the logic. Sirius didn't kill them. Why would he? He was the one pushing for them to get together. He was going to get married. He didn't need to be in league with Voldemort. He was certainly strong enough by himself. And with friends like Lily and James… Besides, why would he give up Sarah? He would never do that. He loves her. He loves her more than anything._

_Even playing pranks?_

_Yes. He would not give up everything just because of some evil wizard. He would not do anything to endanger his godson._

_How did Harry survive, anyway?_

_That's the mystery. Lily and James were very special people. Harry's famous now. I always knew the Potters were going to be great._

!!!

Hagrid stood, not saying anything. What could he say? _That girl's gone mad, _he thought. _Not that I blame her. She just lost everything._

"I'll head home now," Sarah said. She got on the motorcycle. "Bye, Hagrid."

!!!

Sarah had never been on Sirius's motorbike before. He had tried to take her on a ride before, but she had flat-out refused.

[5 years old]

Sarah was in her front yard, playing with a ball. Her mother had been watching her, but was now having a chat with their neighbor.

The little blond girl was trying to dribble the ball. She wasn't doing a very good job of it, however. The ball got away from Sarah and rolled into the street. Not knowing any better, she went after it.

She had reached the ball when she heard a noise. A motorcycle was coming toward her. Sarah just stood there, frozen in fear. The man on the vehicle didn't notice the five-year-old.

Mrs. Johnson turned to check on her daughter. She screamed when she saw the motorcycle about to run over Sarah. "Wingardium Leviosa!" (AN: Is that right…? The right spell, I mean.).

Sarah was lifted into the air by an unseen force. Luckily, the motorcyclist didn't notice the spell. The Johnsons' neighbor was a witch, so there was no danger of exposure.

Being nearly killed by something did not make someone want to get on it. But Sarah had to face her fear, and she wanted to know how Sirius must have felt on his precious bike. When she was halfway home, she discovered something attached to the motorcycle. What's this? She got a closer look. It was a picture of herself and Sirius. They were standing in front of their house. Well, at the time, only Sirius was living in it. Sirius had just moved in when that picture had been taken.

[19 years old]

Click. Remus lowered the camera. "All right. I took your picture," he said, handing Sirius the camera.

"Thanks, Moony," Sirius replied.

"Are we still going to use those names? I mean, we're adults now," James said from behind Remus.

"Of course we are, mate. We wouldn't be the Marauders if we didn't."

Remus said, "Well, then, Padfoot, how do you like your new house?"

"Just fine, Moony."

Sarah said, "Do you have to keep calling him that silly nickname? We all know Remus is a werewolf, you know."

Peter said, "I told you we should have picked better nicknames."

"Shut up," Sirius answered.

Veronica spoke up, "The rest of you are Animagi, aren't you?"

"Okay, now how did you know that?"

"Oh, please. We saw the looks on your faces when McGonagall turned herself into a cat. The three of you always disappeared when Remus did. And since you couldn't be human when you were with him, you had to be animals. Or plants, but that's not the point."

Sarah said, "Let's see. Padfoot. A… dog or something. Wormtail. A… mouse? Rat? Prongs. Some kind of deer, I suppose."

"You girls are too smart for us."

"We already knew that," Lily said, grinning.

&&&

[20 years old]

Sarah had been living with Sirius for nearly a year and was starting to wonder if they would ever get married. One night, the couple was enjoying a rare night of leisure at home when Sarah decided to bring up the topic of marriage.

"So, my husband-to-be," Sarah said to Sirius, sitting next to him on the couch, "have you decided on a date yet?"

"Uh…"

She started tickling him. "Come on, when are we getting married?"

Sirius was laughing uncontrollably. "How—Hahaha!— about—Haha!—November… or December?"

"All right, fine."

"Can you—Hahahahaha!—stop that?"

"Hmm…" Sarah said, pretending to be thinking hard. "Nope, I don't think so!" she said, continuing to tickle her fiancé mercilessly.

_God, I miss him._

!!!

Veronica was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling. _Lily's dead. My best friend is dead. James and Peter are gone too. Why would Sirius do this?_

_He wouldn't._ (AN: It's Veronica's turn now!)

_Why would he give up the one he loves to kill his best friends? It makes no sense._

_You know what would make sense? If he didn't do it._

_But I can't know for sure. There's no evidence that says he didn't kill them._

_But the evidence they_ do_ have is_ _circumstantial and could be faked._

_Are you saying_ _that he might be innocent? That someone framed him?_

_Well, actually, I am_ thinking _it, but that's not the point. Sirius may be innocent._

_But who would want to frame him?_

_Nobody knows._

!!!

Sarah had gotten home. She left the motorcycle outside. She went inside and started pacing (AN: She seems to be doing a lot of that, doesn't she? I'm very repetitive. Ha! That way it gets stuck in your head, you see?). She decided that since she couldn't stay still, she might as well make some use of her extra energy.

She went upstairs to change into Muggle clothes so she could go jogging.

!!!

There was a small forest near the house. Sarah headed into it, her wavy hair in a ponytail. She started running and didn't stop.

_They took him away from me. I know he's innocent. I can feel it. I knew him better than anyone else did, except maybe James. They were best friends, almost like brothers. Sirius would never betray James. He had no reason to be part of Voldemort's forces. With friends like us, like Lily and James, he would be even stronger than if he joined the Dark Lord. So what happened? What really happened that night?_

Sarah stopped running to catch her breath. _Why did they take him? Why did they take Sirius away from me? Why did this have to happen? Why? I miss him so much._

She looked at her engagement ring. "We were going to spend the rest of our lives together. Not anymore." Her voice got louder, and she started yelling at the sky. "Why? Why do I have to go through so much pain? I'm not a bad person. I don't deserve this!"

[19 years old]

"Sarah, we've known each other for a long time."

"Yes, we have," Sarah replied, smiling fondly.

"You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah…" Sarah said, unsure of where the conversation was going.

"I could spend the rest of my life with you."

"What are you trying to say, Sirius?"

"Look, what I'm trying to say is…" Sirius got down on one knee and produced a ring from his pocket. "Sarah Johnson, will you marry me?"

Sarah gasped. "You want me to marry you?"

"Yes."

"Oh… my… God…"

"Sarah, you have to give me an answer soon, because I'm kneeling on a rock, and I may be bleeding."

"Well, I guess the only answer I can give you is yes."

Tears were streaming down Sarah's face. It was the first time she had cried since she had found out about her friends' deaths. She started shrieking incoherently. She kicked and banged her fists on the trees around her (AN: If you've seen the beginning of the movie Labyrinth, you might know what I'm talking about. It's the scene right before Sarah—the one in the movie, not this Sarah—meets the worm.).

After a few minutes of that, she quieted down and leaned with her back against a tree. She slid down it, sobbing.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Wow, this chapter has a lot of thoughts and flashbacks in it. Look forward to at least three more chapters. Oh, and I hope Sarah doesn't seem too wimpy here… If she does, sorry about that.


	19. Reminiscing

Author's Note: Okay, this chapter isn't going to be that good, but do you think I could get at least… six more reviews? That would make it 150, I think. If it could get to 155, that'd be really great.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

[…] = time

_italics_= emphasis

_italics_= thoughts

-Reminiscing-

[1 year later]

_A year.__ A whole year. It's been 365 days since the day he was sent to prison, _Sarah thought to herself. She had been fixing herself breakfast when she remembered what day it was.

_A year and three days since Lily, James, and Peter died. _She was still wearing the engagement ring Sirius had given her so long ago.

_I didn't want to believe it, but I guess it's real, because he's still not here with me. I hoped that some new evidence would be found—something, anything to get Sirius out of Azkaban. It's been a year, and… nothing. Not a single thing has turned up. I hate this. I hate feeling so alone. Life stinks when you lose the one you love._

!!!

_Three years,_ Remus thought. _It's been three years since we broke up._

Over the past year, he and Sarah had exchanged many letters, but he had only received two from Veronica. At the moment, he was thinking about the woman with long, dark hair.

_I hate this. I really do. This werewolf thing has ruined my life. I can't find work. I lost the woman I love. Plus, it really hurts. And… _He suddenly remembered what day it was. Sirius has been in Azkaban for a year now. I'd better write to Sarah. He got up and wrote a letter to his friend.

!!!

Sarah was staring out the window that evening when she saw an owl. She opened the window to let it in.

The owl landed on the table and held out its leg so Sarah could untie the letter that was attached to it.

The blonde did so, then sent the owl on its way. She sat down in the living room to read the letter. _It's from Remus._

_Dear Sarah,_

_It's been a year since Sirius was taken. I just wanted to see if you were all right. This stinks, doesn't it? I hate this. Being alone, I mean. I wish we could go back in time, to when we were at Hogwarts. All of us were alive and happy. We didn't worry about much. Now, everything's changed. Well, anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were okay._

_Your friend,_

_Remus_

_P.S. Have you heard from Veronica lately?_

Sarah heard a noise behind her. "Veronica!"

Veronica had Apparated into the room. "Hi, Sarah. Are you okay? I remembered what day it was and…"

"I don't know. I think I'm okay. I just… I miss him so much."

"I'm sorry. God, this whole year has been so… unreal. It's been like a dream. Like some weird nightmare."

"You know, everyday I wake up expecting him to be there, but he's not. And then I just feel so… alone."

"You still have me. And Remus."

"I know, but it's just not the same. You guys are my friends. Sirius was much more than that."

"What's that?" Veronica asked, pointing to the piece of parchment that Sarah was still holding.

"Oh… Um, it's just a letter."

"Who's it from?"

"Remus."

"Can I see it?"

"Uh… I don't know…"

"Come on. He's my friend too, even if we're not as close as we used to be. Let me see." She took the letter from Sarah. When she got to the last line, she got serious. "He's not over me."

"To be truthful… no."

"I thought he would have been by now._ He_ broke up with _me_. He met Gabriel and accepted him."

Sarah sighed. "Veronica, you _know_ he didn't _want_ to break up with you."

"But he did it."

"He told me breaking up with you was the hardest thing he ever had to do."

"I know. I want him to stop feeling so bad about it. I want him to just live his life."

"You _know_ Remus. He's not going to do that anytime soon."

!!!

[Two years later]

"Veronica Kent, will you marry me?"

"Gabriel, I… I don't know what to say."

"You could say yes," Gabriel replied with a grin.

Veronica smiled. "All right then. Yes."

!!!

"Married? They're getting married?" Remus said to himself. He had just finished reading a letter from Sarah. He Apparated to Sarah's house.

!!!

"They're engaged? Veronica and Gabriel are getting married?"

"Yes, Remus."

"Oh God. When?"

"In a few months to a year, I suppose."

"Oh."

"I'm the maid of honor."

"What?!"

"I know. I'm not that fond of Gabriel either, but Veronica's my best friend. I have to be there for her."

!!!

[3 months later]

_You are cordially invited to the blessed union of Gabriel Anderson and Veronica Kent._

Remus dropped the invitation on the floor. _It's really happening._

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Aww… Poor Remus. Oh, by the way, I'm going to put in Lily and James in future chapters. Yes, I know they're dead, but you'll see. Sorry I haven't updated, but my Internet hasn't been working lately…


	20. Lost Loves aka The Other Wedding

Author's Note: I had a much better speech planned for Sarah, but alas, I did not write it down, and now I can't remember it. This chapter sounded a lot better in my head and this story would be a lot better if it was a movie, but… that's not happening anytime soon, so imagine it like a movie and it might work better for you.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

= begin flashback

= end flashback

[…] = time

_italics _= emphasis

_italics _= thoughts

-Lost Loves a.k.a. The Other Wedding-

[4 months later]

"So you're getting married tomorrow," Sarah said.

Veronica replied, "Yeah."

"That's so great for you."

"Mm-hmm."

"Are you nervous?"

"No."

Sarah gave her friend a knowing look.

"Maybe a little. Okay, a lot."

"It'll be all right."

"I know, I know. Lily wasn't like this at _her_ wedding."

"You're not Lily. Besides, James was nervous enough for the both of them. I remember Sirius told me something about James being very jumpy right before the wedding…"

"Speaking of Sirius, how are you doing? Do you still miss him?"

"Everyday."

"Oh. Hey, um, do you know if Remus is coming?"

"No, I don't."

"I sent him an invitation. He hasn't replied, and the wedding's tomorrow."

"I don't know if he can handle it. I mean, you're marrying some other guy. He thinks you've forgotten about him."

"A girl never forgets her first love," Veronica said, "and I will _never_ forget Remus Lupin."

"He was really special to you."

"Of course. You know how we were back then."

"Back then, huh? Well, why aren't you marrying _him now_?"

"It wasn't meant to be."

"I've told you before. He still loves you."

Veronica had a sad look on her face. "I know. I still love him too. I'm just not _in_ love with him anymore."

"Gabriel's a great guy and everything, and I'm happy for you. Really, I am," Sarah said, noticing the skeptical look on her best friend's face. "I just… I still picture you walking down the aisle to Remus."

"That's not going to happen."

"I wish Lily could be here."

"So do I."

"I miss them. All of them. God, this just… sucks. Everything. It sucks." (AN: Blunt, isn't she?)

"Sarah…"

"I hate it. I hate him. I hate Voldemort. Look what he's done. All the pain he's caused. All the people he's killed. The people he took away from _me._ It still hurts, and I don't think it'll ever stop hurting."

"Sarah, I realize you miss Sirius a lot—"

"Yeah, Veronica, unlike you, I'm still in love with him. He didn't break up with me. He was _taken _away from me."

She started pacing around the room. "Sirius was a good man. He loved me. He was mine. Whenever I hear someone saying something bad about him, I just want to go over there and slap them." Her voice took on a slight note of hysteria. "You know, all our lives have been ruined. I mean, Lily and James and Peter… they don't even _have_ lives anymore. Remus is a werewolf who is unemployed and miserable because he's not with you. You're sad because you two aren't together anymore. Sirius is in prison for something he probably didn't even do. I lost three of my best friends years ago, Remus _still _ won't tell me where he is, you I'm losing because of Gabriel, and I should be married now, but I'm not… Oh, and poor little Harry has to live with those wretched people… Oh… God, this is just bad. Bad, bad, bad. I can't take this anymore! I'm just, I can't—"

"Sarah! Calm down." Veronica started shaking her friend. "You're freaking out again."

"I'm sorry. I just… I need… I want them back."

"You can't bring them back. No matter how good a witch you are, you can't bring back the dead. I'm sorry. I miss them too, you know."

"I know. But you—you have Gabriel. I have no one. Sirius was so full of life. Ever since that night, I've just felt so alone and empty."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. Nothing's ever going to be okay again. I just want everything to be back to normal. I want to be happy again."

!!!

The minister, Gabriel, and his best man Phillip were at their places at the front of the room.

A mysterious brown-haired man was in the audience.

The procession began. The ushers came down the aisle in pairs. The bridesmaids followed them. Sarah, as the maid of honor, came in next. The ring bearer was after them. The flower girl appeared and threw flower petals as she traveled down the aisle.

Now Veronica appeared. She proceeded down the aisle alone, because she didn't have anyone to give her away, and she didn't really care either way. The guests stood as the bride passed them.

Veronica joined Gabriel at the front of the room. The minister began the ceremony.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony."

"Therefore if any man can give any just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him speak now, or forever hold his peace."

Remus stared at the couple and struggled to stop himself from screaming out that he had a reason.

The minister turned to Gabriel. "Do you, Gabriel Anderson, take this woman to be your wedded wife? Will you love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her, in sickness and in health, so long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"And do you, Veronica Kent, take this man to be your wedded husband? Will you love him, comfort him, honor, and keep him, in sickness and in health, so long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

The minister placed Veronica's right hand in Gabriel's.

"Repeat after me," he said to the groom. "I, Gabriel, take thee Veronica to be my wedded wife—to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live. I give you this ring as a sign of my promise."

Gabriel repeated what the minister said.

The minister turned to the bride. "Repeat after me. I, Veronica—"

"I, Veronica, take thee Gabriel to be my wedded husband—to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live. I give you this ring as a sign of my promise."

Gabriel placed the wedding ring on Veronica's ring finger. "With this ring I thee wed." She did the same for him.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

At that moment, a man named Remus Lupin felt his heart break. (AN: I think my subconscious wants me to torture the poor werewolf or something… I keep making him feel bad. -starts kicking self again-)

!!!

At the reception, the new Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were dancing together. Sarah was dancing with Phillip.

"Sarah, you look amazing."

"Thank you," she replied, rather uncomfortably. The last man she had danced with was Sirius, and it felt strange to be dancing with someone else (AN: Wow, not dancing for years…).

"Do you think maybe we could get together some other time? Like maybe somewhere that isn't a wedding?" Phillip laughed a little. "Seriously, I'd really like to get to know you better. Maybe we could go out or something."

Sarah looked at her shoes. _I can't. I can't. I just can't. I'll just think of Sirius when I'm with him, and that hurts so much. I couldn't do this to Sirius. Not without knowing if I have his permission or not. _She looked up into the handsome face of Gabriel's best man. "Look, Phillip, I'm sure you're a nice guy and all… But I just can't. I'm sorry."

"Oh. Well… All right, then."

"I really am sorry. I wish I could, but I can't. It just wouldn't feel right."

"I understand."

_No, you don't,_ Sarah thought. _No one does._

"Excuse me. Can I cut in?"

Phillip moved aside to let Remus dance with Sarah, who smiled when she saw who it was. "Remus! You came!"

"Yeah."

"Oh, did you see the ceremony?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I made the decision to come here. I guess I'm a bit crazy. I knew it was going to hurt, but I came anyway."

"Well, I'm glad you're here. Does Veronica know you're here?"

"No."

"Well, come on then." Sarah started dragging her friend across the dance floor.

"No! No, Sarah. Stop. Please."

"What is it?"

"I don't want her to know I'm here. At least not 'til it's over."

"But—"

"Sarah. Just do this for me, okay? I don't think I could deal with talking to her right now. I'd probably go insane and beg her to come back to me, and I don't want that for her."

Sarah sighed, but stopped moving at the look on her friend's face. "Remus. She still loves you. But she says she's not _in_ love with you anymore."

"I understand."

She looked around at everything. She looked at the people and the decorations and the food. "I miss them, Remus. Peter and James and Lily. And Sirius, most of all. God, he must be wasting away in Azkaban."

"Maybe we'd better go outside," Remus suggested. His friend looked like she was going to vomit.

!!!

"Harry's about four and a half now, isn't he?"

"Must be."

"I haven't seen him in years. He must be a beautiful little boy," Sarah said. "I mean, with parents like that… I still can't believe they're gone. It's been three and a half years, and I still can't believe it."

"No one wants to believe their best friends are dead."

"Sirius. He was Harry's godfather. He was so excited about it too. Do you remember that?"

"Yeah."

!!!

"He's kind of quiet for a baby," Remus said.

"A little," Lily responded.

"And I'm his godfather!" Sirius announced in excitement.

Remus turned to him. "That's great, Padfoot."

!!!

"Do you think Sirius thinks about me? Or have the dementors already messed up his memories?"

"I hope that somewhere inside him, there are memories of you in there that no one can get to, not even the dementors."

"Hey, how are you feeling? The love of your life just got married. And not to you."

"I think I'm okay with it. I didn't think I would be, but I am."

"No, you're not. You are _so_ not okay with it."

"Darn. I forgot you were as surprisingly perceptive as you are strong."

Sarah laughed softly. "She's not in love with you anymore, but you're still in love with her, aren't you?"

Remus bit his lip, then nodded.

"I hate this. I hate it. Everything. Everything is just so… not right." Sarah looked out at the stars. "Which one is Sirius? The star, I mean. I've never been much good at Astronomy."

"That one." Remus pointed it out to her.

"Wow. It really _is_ the brightest star in the sky. Just like Sirius was the brightest part of my life."

"I'm sorry. Padfoot… He was my best friend, you know? So were James and Peter. They were there for me. They helped me when we were in school. I just… I just don't understand why all this had to happen."

"We have the saddest lives ever. We're both separated from the people we love. We have almost no friends to speak of. And we're just sitting here, feeling sorry for ourselves."

"We have to grow up."

"I think we've grown up quite a bit since all this happened. Having to deal with so many losses… I just… I've had a few moments of hysteria. Sometimes I feel like just destroying stuff."

"Me too."

"I still have his motorcycle. It reminds me of him. I wish… I wish everything was back to the way it was before. I want Sirius to be here. I wish we were married and you and Veronica were married. I wish Lily, James, and Peter were alive. If only wishes could come true…" Sarah said, looking up at the night sky.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Well, this chapter turned out completely different from what I expected… So, tell me what you think.


	21. Old Friends

Author's Note: Ah… Well, um… This should be interesting. I'm still trying to figure out what happened to this story. It changed drastically… I'm just not sure where or why exactly it happened.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

= begin flashback

= end flashback

[…] = time

_italics _= emphasis

_italics _= thoughts

**bold** = death-speak

-Old Friends-

[After the reception]

"Whew! I'm tired," Veronica said to Sarah. They were sitting in the empty room where the reception had been held. She looked at her friend. "So did you enjoy the party?"

"It was okay."

"Ah."

Sarah pondered whether or not to tell her friend about Remus. "Really, Veronica. The wedding was great. I just… The reception brought back some memories, and…"

"I see."

The blonde took a deep breath. "Remus was here, you know," she said, looking at her friend's face to gauge her reaction.

"He was?"

Sarah nodded.

"What… Why didn't I see him?"

"He didn't want you to know he was there. At least not until he was gone."

"Oh." Veronica felt a little better knowing that she had Remus's sort-of blessing. "I really wish Lily and James could have been here. Then the wedding would have been really perfect."

"Mm."

"Do you think… Do you think they're… watching over us or something?"

"Maybe."

"It would make me feel a lot better to know that they're still kind of… with us. You know?"

"Yeah."

!!!

[Meanwhile…]

**James?**

**What?**

**How long have we been dead?**

**I'd say about three and a half years.**

**Oh. Do you think our friends still think about us?**

**Take a look for yourself.**

Lily looked down, toward Earth. **They really miss us. I wish… I wish there were some way to tell them that Sirius is innocent. Peter framed him.**

**I can't believe that rat. He killed us. And for what? A wizard who doesn't even have any power anymore.**

**Because of Harry. Do you think he remembers us? He was only a year old when we died.**

**Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn't. I don't know.**

**Being dead is strange. There's no sense of time.**

**At least we died together.**

**Mm. I wish Remus and Veronica had found some way to get back together. They were so good together.**

**Poor Moony.**** He gave up a life of happiness for her.**

**And what about Sarah? She's having the hardest time with this. I mean, she was supposed to be married three years ago, but Sirius is in prison. And _he's_ certainly not having a good time.**

**Who would have thought that one fat rat could cause so much pain?**

**I hope something happens to him. I hope he feels all the pain he caused our _real_ friends.**

!!!

[Harry's 3rd year] (AN: Didn't think I'd ever get here, but tada! Here I am!)

Sirius came out of the water and turned back to his human form. _I made it. I can't believe I made it. _He unlocked his memories, and for the first time in twelve years, thought about a certain blonde woman he was supposed to be married to.

_Sarah. What if she thinks I'm guilty? No, she wouldn't. _

_You can't know for sure,_ he told himself.

_What if she's forgotten about me? She's probably gone off and married some other man. _

_The first thing I have to take care of is Peter. _He looked at the photograph of the Weasleys in Egypt. He focused on the fat, gray rat in the picture. _He's at Hogwarts. He must die. I can't let him hurt Harry. Harry, my godson. _

_I can't see Sarah,_ he realized._ I can't take the chance of her turning me in. At least not until Peter's taken care of. _

!!!

Sarah glanced at the headline of the _Daily Prophet _ and dropped the stack of plates she was holding. Luckily, she was wearing shoes at the time, so she didn't cut her feet on the broken pieces. _He's escaped. Sirius is out of prison._

She waved her wand to repair the dishes, then read the rest of the article. "Sirius isn't mad. He isn't dangerous to anyone. How could they say this?" _Because they don't know the _real_ him. _She couldn't help feeling happy that Sirius had escaped. _Will he try to see me? God, I'm thirty-three years old, I don't have a husband, and the man I was supposed to marry is an escaped convict. Will this nightmare never end? _

!!!

"Yeah," said Harry, looking quickly toward the door. The hooded creature had vanished. "What happened? Where's that—that thing? Who screamed?"

"No one screamed," said Ron, more nervously still.

_Screamed?_ Remus thought._ What if—? No, he couldn't have remembered their deaths. He was only a year old when Lily and James died._

Harry looked around the bright compartment. Ginny and Neville looked back at him, both very pale.

"But I heard screaming—"

A loud snap made them all jump. Professor Lupin was breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces.

"Here," he said to Harry, handing him a particularly large piece. "Eat it. It'll help."

Harry took the chocolate but didn't eat it.

"What was that thing?" he asked Lupin.

"A dementor," said Lupin, who was now giving chocolate to everyone else. "One of the dementors of Azkaban." _Azkaban. Where Sirius has been for twelve years… How did he get out? _

!!!

Professor Lupin had come back. He paused as he entered, looked around, and said, with a small smile, "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know…."

Harry took a bite and to his great surprise felt warmth spread suddenly to the tips of his fingers and toes.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes," said Professor Lupin. "Are you all right, Harry?" _He looks so much like James did in _his _first year. Except for the eyes, of course. Those are most definitely Lily's eyes._

!!!

"You _fainted,_ Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually _fainted_?"

Malfoy elbowed past Hermione to block Harry's way up the stone steps to the castle, his face gleeful and his pale eyes glinting maliciously.

"Shove off, Malfoy," said Ron, whose jaw was clenched.

"Did you faint as well, Weasley?" said Malfoy loudly. "Did the scary old dementor frighten you too, Weasley?"

"Is there a problem?" said a mild voice. Professor Lupin had just gotten out of the next carriage. _That boy. He looks so familiar. Ah. He must be… Lucius Malfoy's son. Of course. The endless cycle of Malfoy versus Potter…_

!!!

"Harry?"

Harry doubled back to see who had spoken and met Professor Lupin, looking around his office door.

"What are you doing?" said Lupin, though in a very different voice from Filch. "Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Hogsmeade," said Harry, in a would-be casual voice.

"Ah," said Lupin. He considered Harry for a moment. _Knowing the Dursleys, they wouldn't have signed his permission form. _"Why don't you come in? I've just taken delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson."

!!!

[Meanwhile…]

**Remus is so great. He's being so kind to our son,** Lily said to James.

**I always knew he was a great friend.**

**Where is Sirius now?**

**I'm not sure. What do you think he'll do now, since he's escaped?**

**He might see Harry. He hasn't seen his godson in twelve years.**

**Has it really been _that_ long?**

**Yes.**

**Peter. Sirius will go after Peter.**

**Of course. The man who framed him. He's going to commit the murder he was imprisoned for.**

**He's going to become a murderer because of us.**

**Oh, for Merlin's sake! Feeling guilty when you're dead? This is just ridiculous.**

!!! 

"Sit down," said Lupin, taking the lid off a dusty tin. "I've only got teabags, I'm afraid—but I daresay you've had enough of tea leaves?"

Harry looked at him. Lupin's eyes were twinkling.

"How did you know about that?" Harry asked.

"Professor McGonagall told me," said Lupin, passing Harry a chipped mug of tea. "You're not worried, are you?" _That Professor Trelawney and her Grim. The Grim always reminded me of Sirius. The dog._

"No," said Harry.

He thought for a moment of telling Lupin about the dog he'd seen in Magnolia Crescent but decided not to. He didn't want Lupin to think he was a coward, especially since Lupin already seemed to think he couldn't cope with a boggart.

Something of Harry's thoughts seemed to have shown on his face, because Lupin said, "Anything worrying you, Harry?" _He even looks like James when he thinks. _

"No," Harry lied. He drank a bit of tea and watched the grindylow brandishing a fist at him. "Yes," he said suddenly, putting his tea down on Lupin's desk. "You know that day we fought the boggart?"

"Yes," said Lupin slowly.

"Why didn't you let me fight it?" said Harry abruptly.

Lupin raised his eyebrows.

"I would have thought that was obvious, Harry," he said, sounding surprised.

Harry, who had expected Lupin to deny that he'd done any such thing, was taken aback.

"Why?" he said again.

"Well," said Lupin, frowning slightly, "I assumed that if the boggart faced you, it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort."

Harry stared. Not only was this the last answer he'd expected, but Lupin had said Voldemort's name. The only person Harry had ever heard say the name aloud (apart from himself) was Professor Dumbledore.

_Why does he look so surprised?_ "Clearly, I was wrong," said Lupin, still frowning at Harry. "But I didn't think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the staffroom. I imagined that people would panic."

"I didn't think of Voldemort," said Harry honestly. "I—I remembered those dementors."

"I see," said Lupin thoughtfully. _His greatest fear isn't Voldemort. The person who killed his parents. He's a very brave young man. _"Well, well… I'm impressed." He smiled slightly at the look of surprise on Harry's face. "That suggests that what you fear most of all is—fear. Very wise, Harry."

Harry didn't know what to say to that, so he drank some more tea.

"So you've been thinking that I didn't believe you capable of fighting the boggart?" said Lupin shrewdly. _Lily and James's son? Of course he's capable of fighting a _boggart.

!!!

"Professor Snape has very kindly concocted a potion for me," he said. "I have never been much of a potion-brewer and this one is particularly complex." He picked up the goblet and sniffed it. "Pity sugar makes it useless," he added, taking a sip and shuddering. _Every time I take this blasted potion, I remember how I lost Veronica. _

!!!

"We don't know anything about werewolves—"

"—two rolls of parchment!"

"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?" Lupin asked, frowning slightly. _He's trying to get them to figure out my secret. He's trying to ruin me._

The babble broke out again.

"Yes, but he said we were really behind—"

"—he wouldn't listen—"

"—_two rolls of parchment!_"

Professor Lupin smiled at the look of indignation on every face.

"Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay."

"Oh _no_," said Hermione, looking very disappointed. "I've already finished it!"

_That girl is very bright. I think she needs to loosen up a bit, though. Reminds me of Lily._

!!!

"Wait a moment, Harry," Lupin called. "I'd like a word."

Harry doubled back and watched Professor Lupin covering the hinkypunk's box with a cloth.

"I heard about the match," said Lupin, turning back to his desk and starting to pile books into his briefcase, "and I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there any chance of fixing it?"

"No," said Harry. "The tree smashed it to bits."

Lupin sighed. _It's because of me. That tree was planted because of me._

"They planted the Whomping Willow the same year that I arrived at Hogwarts. People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would have a chance."

"Did you hear about the dementors too?" said Harry with difficulty.

Lupin looked at him quickly.

"Yes, I did. I don't think any of us have seen Professor Dumbledore that angry. They have been growing restless for some time… furious at his refusal to let them inside the grounds…. I suppose they were the reason you fell?"

"Yes," said Harry. He hesitated, and then the question he had to ask burst from him before he could stop himself. "_Why?_ Why do they affect me like that? Am I just—?"

"It has nothing to do with weakness," said Professor Lupin sharply, as though he had read Harry's mind."The dementors affect you worse than the others because there are horrors in your past that the others don't have." _Those horrors are in my past as well._

A ray of wintery sunlight fell across the classroom, illuminating Lupin's gray hairs and the lines on his young face.

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can't see them. Get too near a dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself… soul-less and evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life. And the worst that happened to _you_, Harry, is enough to make anyone fall off their broom. You have nothing to feel ashamed of."

"When they get near me—" Harry stared at Lupin's desk, his throat tight. "I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum."

Lupin made a sudden motion with his arm as though to grip Harry's shoulder, but thought better of it. _He can hear Lily being killed? _There was a moment's silence, then—

"Why'd they have to come to the match?" said Harry bitterly.

"They're getting hungry," said Lupin coolly, shutting his briefcase with a snap. "Dumbledore won't let them into the school, so their supply of human prey has dried up…. I don't think they could resist the large crowd around the Quidditch field. All that excitement… emotions running high… it was their idea of a feast."

"Azkaban must be terrible," Harry muttered. Lupin nodded grimly.

"The fortress is set on a tiny island, way out to sea, but they don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're all trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought. Most of them go mad within weeks."

"But Sirius Black escaped from them," Harry said slowly. "He got away…."

Lupin's briefcase slipped from the desk; he had to stoop quickly to catch it.

_He doesn't know. He doesn't know that Sirius is his… _"Yes," he said, straightening up, "Black must have found a way to fight them. I wouldn't have believed it possible…. Dementors are supposed to drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them too long…." _And twelve years is _definitely_ long._

"_You_ made that dementor on the train back off," said Harry suddenly.

"There are—certain defenses one can use," said Lupin. "But there was only one dementor on the train. The more there are, the more difficult it becomes to resist."

"What defenses?" said Harry at once. "Can you teach me?"

"I don't pretend to be an expert at fighting dementors, Harry… quite the contrary…."

"But if the dementors come to another Quidditch match, I need to be able to fight them—"

Lupin looked into Harry's determined face, hesitated, then said, "Well… all right. I'll try and help. But it'll have to wait until next term, I'm afraid. I have a lot to do before the holidays. I chose a very inconvenient time to fall ill." _I owe James the safety of his son, at least. _

!!!

"What does a Patronus look like?" said Harry curiously.

"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it."

"And how do you conjure it?"

"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory." _I always remember the day Veronica told me she loved me._

!!!

Lupin grasped the lid of the packing case and pulled.

A dementor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned toward Harry, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The lamps around the classroom flickered and went out. The dementor stepped from the box and started to sweep silently toward Harry, drawing a deep, rattling breath. A wave of piercing cold broke over him—

"_Expecto patronum!_" Harry yelled. "_Expecto patronum! Expecto—_"

But the classroom and the dementor were dissolving…. Harry was falling again through thick white fog, and his mother's voice was louder than ever, echoing inside his head— "_Not Harry! Not Harry! Please— I'll do anything—_"

"_Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!_"

"Harry!"

Harry jerked back to life. He was lying flat on his back on the floor. The classroom lamps were alight again. He didn't have to ask what had happened.

"Sorry," he muttered, sitting up and feeling cold sweat trickling down behind his glasses.

"Are you all right?" said Lupin.

"Yes…" Harry pulled himself up on one of the desks and leaned against it.

"Here—" Lupin handed him a Chocolate Frog. "Eat this before we try again. I didn't expect you to do it your first time; in fact, I would have been astounded if you had." _He's very powerful, this boy. I guess I should have expected that. After all, he's a Potter, isn't he? _

"It's getting worse," Harry muttered, biting off the Frog's head. "I could hear her louder that time—and him—Voldemort—"

Lupin looked paler than usual. _How horrible it must be to hear that._

"Harry, if you don't want to continue, I will more than understand—"

"I do!" said Harry fiercely, stuffing the rest of the Chocolate Frog into his mouth. "I've got to! What if the dementors turn up at our match against Ravenclaw? I can't afford to fall off again. If we lose this game we've lost the Quidditch Cup!"

_Harry's very determined. Stubborn, just like his parents. _"All right then…," said Lupin, "You might want to select another memory, a happy memory, I mean, to concentrate on…. That one doesn't seem to have been strong enough…."

!!!

"Harry! Harry… wake up…."

Lupin was tapping Harry hard on the face. This time it was a minute before Harry understood why he was lying on a dusty classroom floor.

"I heard my dad," Harry mumbled. "That's the first time I've ever heard him—he tried to take on Voldemort himself, to give my mum time to run for it…."

Harry suddenly realized that there were tears on his face mingling with the sweat. He bent his face as low as possible, wiping them off on his robes, pretending to do up his shoelace, so that Lupin wouldn't see.

"You heard James?" said Lupin in a strange voice. _I haven't heard James's voice for twelve years…_

"Yeah…" Face dry, Harry looked up. "Why—you didn't know my dad, did you?"

"I—I did, as a matter of fact," said Lupin. _Of course I knew him. He was one of my best friends. _"We were friends at Hogwarts. Listen, Harry—perhaps we should leave it here for tonight. This charm is ridiculously advanced…. I shouldn't have suggested putting you through this…." _What if he can't handle this? To hear his parents die so many times…_

!!!

There was a loud crack, and Harry's cloudy Patronus vanished along with the dementor; he sank into a chair, feeling as exhausted as if he'd just run a mile, and felt his legs shaking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Professor Lupin forcing the boggart back into the packing case with his wand; it had turned into a silvery orb again.

"Excellent!" Lupin said, striding over to where Harry sat. _It really _was_ excellent for a kid his age_. "Excellent, Harry! That was definitely a start!"

"Can we have another go? Just one more go?"

"Not now," said Lupin firmly. _I don't want the poor boy to die from exhaustion._ "You've had enough for one night. Here—"

He handed Harry a large bar of Honeydukes' best chocolate.

"Eat the lot, or Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood. Same time next week?"

"Okay," said Harry. He took a bite of the chocolate and watched Lupin extinguishing the lamps that had rekindled with the disappearance of the dementor. A thought had just occurred to him.

"Professor Lupin?" he said. "If you knew my dad, you must've known Sirius Black as well."

Lupin turned very quickly.

"What gives you that idea?" he said sharply.

"Nothing—I mean, I just knew they were friends at Hogwarts too…."

Lupin's face relaxed._ Sirius Black. My other best friend. Supposedly. The man who killed my friends was certainly _not_ my best friend. _

"Yes, I knew him," he said shortly. "Or I thought I did. You'd better be off, Harry, it's getting late."

!!!

_Sirius is still loose_, Veronica thought. She looked at her three-year-old daughter Lily (named after Lily Potter, naturally). The little girl had dark hair like her mother's, but brown eyes like her father's. _Wonder how Sarah's doing. _

She went into the other room to check on her five-year-old son, Remus. He was named after a certain werewolf, of course. Remus Anderson's hair was a light brown color. He had his mother's sparkling blue eyes. _Strange how he acts like Remus. He's never even met Remus Lupin. I guess my memories of him kind of rubbed off on him_, she thought. She smiled. _I wonder how life's treating Remus. I hope he's all right. _

!!!

_Sirius has been out of prison for a few months now, _Sarah thought. _He hasn't come to see me. Or if he did, I didn't know about it. _

She laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling. _Even if Sirius _is _a murderer, at least Harry should be safe. Dumbledore and Remus are there to protect him. I know he isn't, though. Deep down in my heart, I know he's innocent. _

!!!

Sirius was in dog form with Crookshanks purring next to him. _This cat is really smart._

_I hope Harry likes his new broomstick. James certainly would have. _He looked up at the night sky. _I will avenge your deaths, my friends. I will make Wormtail pay._

!!!

[Meanwhile…]

**What?**

**He's really going to kill Peter.**

**Well, this stinks. We feel guilty, and we're dead. Dead people aren't supposed to feel _anything_.**

**_James._**__

**You see? You're annoyed with me. Dead people aren't supposed to be annoyed.**

!!!

"You're expecting too much of yourself," said Professor Lupin sternly in their fourth week of practice. "For a thirteen-year-old wizard, even an indistinct Patronus is a huge achievement. You aren't passing out anymore, are you?"

"I thought a Patronus would—charge the dementors down or something," said Harry dispiritedly. "Make them disappear—"

"The true Patronus does do that," said Lupin. "But you've achieved a great deal in a very short space of time. If the dementors put in an appearance at your next Quidditch match, you will be able to keep them at bay long enough to get back to the ground."

"You said it's harder if there are loads of them," said Harry.

"I have complete confidence in you," said Lupin, smiling. _Harry's a very nice boy. More polite than James was when we were young…_ "Here—you've earned a drink—something from the Three Broomsticks. You won't have tried it before—"

He pulled two bottles out of his briefcase.

"Butterbeer!" said Harry, without thinking. "Yeah, I like that stuff!"

Lupin raised an eyebrow.

"Oh—Ron and Hermione brought me some back from Hogsmeade," Harry lied quickly.

"I see," said Lupin, though he still looked slightly suspicious. _If he's sneaking off to Hogsmeade, he's putting himself in danger. _"Well—let's drink to a Gryffindor victory against Ravenclaw! Not that I'm supposed to take sides, as a teacher…," he added hastily.

!!!

"They call it the Dementor's Kiss," said Lupin, with a slightly twisted smile. "It's what dementors do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there, because they clamp their jaws upon the mouth of the victim and—and suck out his soul."

Harry accidentally spat out a bit of butterbeer.

"What—they kill—?"

"Oh no," said Lupin. "Much worse than that. You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you'll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no… anything. There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just—exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever… lost."

Lupin drank a little more butterbeer, then said, "It's the fate that awaits Sirius Black. It was in the _Daily Prophet_ this morning. The Ministry have given the dementors permission to perform it if they find him."

Harry sat stunned for a moment at the idea of someone having their soul sucked out through their mouth. But then he thought of Black.

"He deserves it," he said suddenly.

"You think so?" said Lupin lightly. "Do you really think anyone deserves that?" _Sirius doesn't deserve that. He was a good man before Lily and James's deaths. The man who killed them wasn't the _real _Sirius Black. _

"Yes," said Harry defiantly. "For… for some things…"

!!!

Harry turned around to see Professor Lupin, who looked both shaken and pleased.

"The dementors didn't affect me at all!" Harry said excitedly. "I didn't feel a thing!"

"That would be because they—er—weren't dementors," said Professor Lupin. "Come and see—"

He led Harry out of the crowd until they were able to see the edge of the field.

"You gave Mr. Malfoy quite a fright," said Lupin. _That silly boy. It was something his father would have done. Except Lucius was a lot smoother than that._

!!!

_Damn. Why'd that Weasley boy have to wake up? And where was Peter?_

Sirius had come back from Gryffindor Tower. His mission had gone horribly wrong. Ron had woken up screaming when he saw Sirius standing above him with a knife.

_I just want to get rid of Peter. That's all I want—to avenge Lily and James's deaths._

!!!

"Lupin!" Snape called into the fire. "I want a word!"

Utterly bewildered, Harry stared at the fire. A large shape had appeared in it, revolving very fast. Seconds later, Professor Lupin was clambering out of the fireplace, brushing ash off his shabby robes.

"You called, Severus?" said Lupin mildly.

"I certainly did," said Snape, his face contorted with fury as he strode back to his desk. "I have just asked Potter to empty his pockets. He was carrying this."

Snape pointed at the parchment, on which the words of Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs were still shining. An odd, closed expression appeared on Lupin's face. _The Marauder's Map. We had so many adventures back then. That map came in handy many a time. _

!!!

Harry didn't dare look at Snape as they left his office. He, Ron, and Lupin walked all the way back into the entrance hall before speaking. Then Harry turned to Lupin.

"Professor, I—"

"I don't want to hear explanations," said Lupin shortly. He glanced around the empty entrance hall and lowered his voice. "I happen to know that this map was confiscated by Mr. Filch many years ago. Yes, I know it's a map," he said as Harry and Ron looked amazed. "I don't want to know how it fell into your possession. I am, however, _astounded_ that you didn't hand it in. Particularly after what happened the last time a student left information about the castle lying around. And I can't let you have it back, Harry." _I can't take the chance that Sirius will find it and use it to kill Harry._

Harry had expected that, and was too keen for explanations to protest.

"Why did Snape think I'd got it from the manufacturers?"

"Because…," Lupin hesitated, "because these mapmakers would have wanted to lure you out of school. They'd think it extremely entertaining." _And we would have._

"Do you _know_ them?" said Harry, impressed.

"We've met," he said shortly. He was looking at Harry more seriously than ever before.

"Don't expect me to cover up for you again, Harry. I cannot make you take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have thought that what you have heard when the dementors draw near you would have had more of an effect on you. Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive, Harry. A poor way to repay them—gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic tricks."

!!!

[Meanwhile…]

**James, I wish there were some way to tell them. To tell them the truth of what happened that night.**

**Harry thinks Sirius betrayed us. My best friend. The best friend I ever had.**

**I guess we just have to watch and wait. To see how things turn out. Hope they turn out for the best.**

!!!

_Something's going to happen tonight. Something important. I just know it is,_ thought Sarah. _Something about Sirius. God, I miss him. _

She stared out the window at the motorcycle that had belonged to her fiancé so many years ago.

!!!

"Ron—come on—back under the cloak—" Hermione panted. "Dumbledore—the Minister— they'll be coming back out in a minute—"

But before they could cover themselves again, before they could even catch their breath, they heard the soft pounding of gigantic paws…. Something was bounding toward them, quiet as a shadow—an enormous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog.

_Peter _will _die tonight_, Sirius thought grimly, rushing forward.

!!!

Harry's and Hermione's wands shot out of their hands, high in the air, and Black caught them. Then he took a step closer. His eyes were fixed on Harry.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he said hoarsely. His voice sounded as though he had long since lost the habit of using it. _I haven't spoken in so long. No one to talk to. It hurts. _"Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful… it will make everything much easier…."

The taunt about his father rang in Harry's ears as though Black had bellowed it. A boiling hate erupted in Harry's chest, leaving no place for fear. For the first time in his life, he wanted his wand back in his hand, not to defend himself, but to attack… to kill. Without knowing what he was doing, he started forward, but there was a sudden movement on either side of him and two pairs of hands grabbed him and held him back…. "No, Harry!" Hermione gasped in a petrified whisper; Ron, however, spoke to Black.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" he said fiercely, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of still more color, and he swayed slightly as he spoke.

Something flickered in Black's shadowed eyes. _Peter's the only one I want to kill. _

"Lie down," he said quietly to Ron. "You will damage that leg even more."

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, though he was clinging painfully to Harry to stay upright. "You'll have to kill all three of us!"

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," said Black, and his grin widened. _Peter, you rat, I've finally got you, after all these years._

"Why's that?" Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of Ron and Hermione. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew…. What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Harry!" Hermione whimpered. "Be quiet!"

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry roared, and with a huge effort he broke free of Hermione's and Ron's restraint and lunged forward—

!!!

[Meanwhile…]

**No, Harry! He didn't! He didn't kill us!**

**Lily, he can't hear you!**

**I have to try!**

**No one's heard you for twelve and a half years. What makes you think someone will hear you now?**

**Nothing. I just…**

**I know. I know.**

!!!

Hermione was screaming; Ron was yelling; there was a blinding flash as the wands in Black's hand sent a jet of sparks into the air that missed Harry's face by inches; Harry felt the shrunken arm under his fingers twisting madly, but he clung on, his other hand punching every part of Black it could find.

But Black's free hand had found Harry's throat—

"No," he hissed, "I've waited too long—" _I've waited much too long to be stopped now. I have to get to Peter. He _must _die tonight._

The fingers tightened, Harry choked, his glasses askew.

!!!

Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. His thin chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched Harry walking slowly nearer, his wand pointing straight at Black's heart.

"Going to kill me, Harry?" he whispered. _I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for all that I've done to you. It's all my fault. _

Harry stopped right above him, his wand still pointing at Black's chest, looking down at him. A livid bruise was rising around Black's left eye and his nose was bleeding.

"You killed my parents," said Harry, his voice shaking slightly, but his wand hand quite steady.

Black stared up at him out of those sunken eyes.

"I don't deny it," he said very quietly. "But if you knew the whole story." _I told them to change to Peter. I as well as killed them. _

"The whole story?" Harry repeated, a furious pounding in his ears. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me," Black said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice now. "You'll regret it if you don't…. You don't understand…."

"I understand a lot better than you think," said Harry, and his voice shook more than ever. "You never heard her, did you? My mum… trying to stop Voldemort killing me… and you did that… you did it…."

_Lily. Dying. No, Harry, I didn't hear it. And I _did _do it. _

!!!

Muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor—someone was moving downstairs.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE—SIRIUS BLACK—_QUICK_!"

!!!

"Where is he, Sirius?" _Where's Peter?_

Harry looked quickly at Lupin. He didn't understand what Lupin meant. Who was Lupin talking about? He turned to look at Black again.

Black's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Ron. Mystified, Harry glanced around at Ron, who looked bewildered.

"But then…," Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, "… why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless"— Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of the rest could see, "—unless _he _was the one… unless you switched… without telling me?"

Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face, Black nodded.

_This explains everything, _Remus thought. _The reason for everything that's happened._

"Professor," Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going on—?"

But he never finished the question, because what he saw made his voice die in his throat. Lupin was lowering his wand, gazing fixedly at Black. The Professor walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks fell to the floor, and embraced Black like a brother. _I knew somehow. I knew he was innocent. _

!!!

Harry could feel himself shaking, not with fear, but with a fresh wave of fury.

"I trusted you," he shouted at Lupin, his voice wavering out of control, "and all the time you've been his friend!"

_When will these kids learn not to jump to conclusions? _"You're wrong," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now—Let me explain…."

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too—_he's a werewolf_!"

There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead…." An odd shiver passed over his face. _How does everyone keep figuring out that I'm a werewolf? Snape knew, Lily knew, Sarah knew, Veronica knew… Veronica… I miss her. How long has it been? _"But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped,

"_Get away from me, werewolf!_"

Lupin stopped dead. Then, with an obvious effort, he turned to Hermione and said, "How long have you known?"

"Ages," Hermione whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay…."

"He'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. _Snape's had it in for me for years._ "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant…. Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both," Hermione said quietly.

Lupin forced a laugh. _I always knew there was something about that girl… She's smart. Very, very smart._

"You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."

"I'm not," Hermione whispered. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

"But they already know," said Lupin. "At least, the staff do."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"

"Some of the staff thought so," said Lupin. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy—"

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!" He was pointing at Black, who suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed and sank onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand. Crookshanks leapt up beside him and stepped onto his lap, purring. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging his leg.

_I'm still hurting the people I care about, _Sirius thought.

"I have _not _been helping Sirius," said Lupin. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look—"

!!!

"The map," said Lupin. "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it—"

"You know how to work it?" Harry said suspiciously.

"Of course I know how to work it," said Lupin, waving his hand impatiently. "I helped write it. I'm Moony—that was my friends' nickname for me at school." _No one's called me Moony in years._

"You _wrote_—?"

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron, and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?"

He had started to pace up and down, looking at them. Little patches of dust rose at his feet. _Reckless yet kind, just like his father. _

"You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Harry—"

"How d'you know about the cloak?"

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it…," said Lupin, waving an impatient hand again. _And the number of times I disappeared under it with him. _"The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else." _Peter._

"What?" said Harry. "No, we weren't!"

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Lupin, still pacing, and ignoring Harry's interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?" _Everyone thought he was dead._

!!!

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he said evenly. _I'd recognize Peter anywhere._

"What?" said Ron. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything," said Lupin. "Could I see him, please?"

!!!

"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly. _Wormtail._

"What d'you mean—of course he's a rat—"

"No, he's not," said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus," said Black, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew." _That rat caused me to lose everything._

!!!

"Sirius, NO!" Lupin yelled, launching himself forwards and dragging Black away from Ron again, "WAIT! You can't do it just like that—they need to understand—we've got to explain—"

"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, trying to throw Lupin off. _He killed my best friend. He must pay. _One hand was still clawing the air as it tried to reach Scabbers, who was squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's face and neck as he tried to escape._ I will not be denied my revenge!_

"They've—got—a—right—to—know—everything!" Lupin panted, still trying to restrain Black. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand! And Harry—you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!"

Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, and bleeding hands.

"All right, then," Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for…." _Only for you, James. I'm doing this for you. For your son—my godson._

!!!

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," said Lupin, nodding. _When will these children learn? Things aren't always as they seem. _"I believed it myself—until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's Map never lies… Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."

Harry looked down at Ron, and as their eyes met, they agreed, silently: Black and Lupin were both out of their minds. Their story made no sense whatsoever. How could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew? Azkaban must have unhinged Black after all—but why was Lupin playing along with him?

Then Hermione spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as thought trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly.

"But Professor Lupin… Scabbers can't be Pettigrew… it just can't be true, you know it can't…"

"Why can't it be true?" Lupin said calmly, as though they were in class, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with grindylows.

"Because… because people would _know_ if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework—the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things… and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list—"

Harry had barely had time to marvel inwardly at the effort Hermione put into her homework, when Lupin started to laugh. _These three have broken the rules so many times themselves, how can they not believe that we did too?_

"Right again, Hermione!" he said. "But the Ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."

"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus," snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperate move. "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer." _Vengeance shall be mine._

"All right… but you'll need to help me, Sirius," said Lupin, "I only know how it began…"

Lupin broke off. There had been a loud creak behind him. The bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All five of them stared at it. Then Lupin strode toward it and looked out into the landing.

"No one there…" _Why does this seem so suspicious?_

"This place is haunted!" said Ron.

"It's not," said Lupin, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted…. The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me."

He pushed his graying hair out of his eyes, thought for a moment, then said, "That's where all of this starts—with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten… and if I hadn't been so foolhardy…." _It's my fault. Everything that's happened has been because of me. _

He looked sober and tired. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione said, "Shh!" She was watching Lupin very intently.

"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform…. I am able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again. _If only it had been available when I was with Veronica._

"Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me.

"But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school…." Lupin sighed, and looked directly at Harry. _Great man, Dumbledore. I can't believe I betrayed his trust. _"I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted _because_ I came to Hogwarts. This house" —Lupin looked miserably around the room, —"the tunnel that leads to it—they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous."

Harry couldn't see where this story was going, but he was listening raptly all the same. The only sound apart from Lupin's voice was Scabbers's frightened squeaking.

"My transformations in those days were—were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor…. Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it….

"But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black… Peter Pettigrew… and, of course, your father, Harry—James Potter.

"Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her…. I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth….

"And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi." _What happened to those great friends? They've all changed. _

!!!

"Hurry up, Remus," snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger on his face. _As much as I'd like to travel down Memory Lane myself, I don't have time for this._

"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there… well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did…. And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."

"What sort of animal—?" Harry began, but Hermione cut him off.

"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

"A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. _I didn't realize how dangerous I was until later. That's why I gave up the most important person in my life. _"And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless—carried away with our own cleverness.

"I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course… he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed…"

Lupin's face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. "All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me… and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me.He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it… so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."

"Snape?" said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers for the first time in minutes and looking up at Lupin. "What's Snape got to do with it?"

"He's here, Sirius," said Lupin heavily. "He's teaching here as well." He looked up at Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons… you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me—"

Black made a derisive noise. _That snake. James should have just let him get to Moony. _

"It served him right," he sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to… hoping he could get us expelled…."

"Severus was very interested in where I went every month." Lupin told Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "We were in the same year, you know, and we—er—didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field… anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be—er—amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it—if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf—but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life… Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was…."

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Harry slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin.

Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Lupin.

!!!

Veronica woke up suddenly. She had fallen asleep from exhaustion after chasing her kids around the house.

_What? Something… I was dreaming. Remus. And Sirius. What? _She tried to organize her thoughts. _Something's happening. Something important. What is it? Something to do with Harry. How could I know this? What's going on? _

!!!

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, throwing the cloak aside, careful to keep his wand pointing directly at Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Potter, I think you…."

Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did… lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. Once glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along with passageway and out of sight."

"Severus—" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him. _No. This can't be happening. He's going to ruin it all. Everyone keeps jumping to conclusions._

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout—"

"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything—I can explain—Sirius is not here to kill Harry—" _It's Peter he's after. Why won't anyone believe what we're trying to say?_

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes now gleaming fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this…. He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin… a _tame_ werewolf—"

"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"

BANG! Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Black started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes. _The idiot. I always knew he was going to make things difficult for us._

"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."

Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred.

!!!

"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you…."

"The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle" —he jerked his head at Ron—"I'll come quietly…." _I only want to do what I came here to do. Get rid of Peter._

"Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black… pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay…."

What little color there was in Black's face left it. _No… He can't do this to me. Not after all this time._

"You—you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat—look at the rat—"

But there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes that Harry had never seen before. He seemed beyond reason.

"Come on, all of you," he said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Lupin flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too—"

_He doesn't know what he's doing, _Remus thought. _He's never bothered to listen to anyone once he makes up his mind. _

Before he knew what he was doing, Harry had crossed the room in three strides and blocked the door.

"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," snarled Snape. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin—"

!!!

[Meanwhile…]

**That idiot!**

**James.**

**He _is _an idiot! Look what he's doing! He's not letting them explain! He's always hated us. Now I suppose he thinks _he's_ doing the right thing.**

**Let's just hope everything works out? Harry's a good boy. And you _know _Sirius and Remus. They can take care of themselves.**

!!!

Harry made up his mind in a split second. Before Snape could take even one step toward him, he had raised his wand.

"_Expelliarmus!_" he yelled—except that his wasn't the only voice that shouted. There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had been knocked out.

Harry looked around. Both Ron and Hermione had tried to disarm Snape at exactly the same moment. Snape's wand soared in a high arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Black, looking at Harry. "You should have left him to me…." _His father would have done the same, though. How very similar he is to James. _

Harry avoided Black's eyes. He wasn't sure, even now, that he'd done the right thing.

"We attacked a teacher…. We attacked a teacher…," Hermione whimpered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble—"

Lupin was struggling against his bonds. Black bent down quickly and untied him. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them. _Sirius, my old friend. Sarah will most definitely be pleased to know that you are innocent. _

!!!

Black put one of his clawlike hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others.

It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the _Daily Prophet_ the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck.

"Fudge," said Black. _Lucky Fudge didn't suspect anything._ "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page… on this boy's shoulder… I knew him at once… how many times had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts… to where Harry was…." _My godson was in danger. What else was I supposed to do? I had to come here, to destroy the person who had killed his father. _

"My God," said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw…"

"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.

"He's got a toe missing," said Black.

"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple… so _brilliant_… he cut it off himself?" _Who would have thought _Peter _was capable of making such an ingenious plan?_

"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself—and sped down into the sewer with the other rats…."

"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger." _It all makes sense now._

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right—"

"Twelve years, in fact," said Lupin. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?"

"We—we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again…."

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" said Ron, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.

But that wasn't right, Harry thought suddenly…. Scabbers had been looking ill before he met Crookshanks… ever since Ron's return from Egypt… since the time when Black had escaped….

"This cat isn't mad," said Black hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head. _This cat has been as good a friend to me as the Marauders were. _"He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me…. Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me…."

!!!

"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it…." croaked Black. "This cat—Crookshanks, did you call him? —told me Peter had left blood on the sheets…. I supposed he bit himself…. Well, faking his own death had worked once…."

These words jolted Harry to his senses.

"And why did he fake his death?" he said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"

"No," said Lupin, "Harry—" _Sirius would _never _have killed Lily and James. Not after all they'd been through together. _

"And now you've come to finish him off!"

"Yes, I have," said Black, with an evil look at Scabbers. _Just not for the reason you think, Harry._

"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.

"Harry," said Lupin hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down—but it was the other way around, don't you see? _Peter_ betrayed your mother and father—Sirius tracked _Peter _down—"_ You helped me, old friend, and now it's my turn to help you. _

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"

He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly overbright. _Lily and James. I've mourned their loss for the past twelve years. _

"Harry… I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me…. I'm to blame, I know it…. The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies… I realized what Peter must've done… what I'd done…."

Sirius looked at the remains of the house and realized what had happened. _Oh God. Lily and James. Dead._ Sirius turned white and started shaking. _I did it. I killed them. I told them to switch to Peter, and he betrayed them. Harry. He doesn't have parents anymore. And he's only a year old._ "Give Harry to me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him."

"I can't let you have him. Dumbledore told me Harry's ter go ter his aunt and uncle's."

"But they didn't have anything to do with Lily and James! They won't care for him!"

"I have me orders."

Sirius sighed. "All right. Take my motorcycle. I won't need it anymore."

Hagrid left.

"_Peter,_" Sirius growled.

His voice broke. He turned away.

"Enough of this," said Lupin, and there was a steely note in his voice Harry had never heard before. _We have to prove it to them._ "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, _give me that rat_."

!!!

"Ready, Sirius?" said Lupin.

Black had already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face. _Finally, after all these years. _

"Together?" he said quietly.

"I think so," said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One—two—THREE!"

!!!

"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."

"S—Sirius… R—Remus…" Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted toward the door. "My friends… my old friends…"

Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning look, then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual. _We'll get a confession out of him. _

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed—"

"Remus," gasped Pettigrew, and Harry could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, "you don't believe him, do you…? He tried to kill me, Remus…."

"So we've heard," said Lupin, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so—"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked suddenly, pointing at Black, and Harry saw that he used his middle finger, because his index was missing. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too…. You've got to help me, Remus…."

!!!

Sarah Apparated into the Andersons' house.

"Veronica, are you here?"

The dark-haired woman walked into the kitchen. "Shh. I just got Lily to sleep. Sarah, what are you doing here?"

"Do you get the feeling that something's happening tonight? Right now? Something significant. Really important."

"As a matter of fact, yes, I do."

"Something just doesn't seem right. Someone's involved who shouldn't be."

"Who could that possibly be?"

"I don't know. But the rest of it. Whatever's happening involves Sirius and Remus."

"Yeah. But where are they?"

"They'd probably be at Hogwarts. Remus is teaching there."

"He didn't tell me that."

"You didn't ask."

Veronica sighed. "Well, then, what should we do?"

"I don't know. We can't Apparate there, and what if whatever's happening is really dangerous? Or what if it's nothing at all?"

"You said Sirius may be involved. What if he _is _a murderer? We can't risk it. Remus can take care of himself. I know he can. I can't go anyway. My kids… they need me. I can't just…"

_He's _not_ a murderer. I know he isn't. He can't be. But I guess Veronica has a point. I can't just drag her into something where she might be killed. She has children to take care of, and a family to manage. _"All right. We won't do anything. We'll just wait to hear from Remus." Sarah looked around. "As long as I'm here, can I see the kids?"

"Sure."

!!!

Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fathomless eyes.

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Lupin. _Sirius's name _will_ be cleared._

"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again, the only door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

!!!

"You haven't been hiding from _me_ for twelve years," said Black. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter…. They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them…. I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information… and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways…. If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter—" _He betrayed the Potters. A fat lot of good that did him. Serves him right for killing Lily and James. They were the best people in the world. _

"Don't know… what you're talking about…," said Pettigrew again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Lupin. "You don't believe this—this madness, Remus—"

_He knows we've got him. There's no way he can deny any of this now. _"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," said Lupin evenly. _The traitor. _

"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Pettigrew. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban—the spy, Sirius Black!"

Black's face contorted. Me, _the spy? Ludicrous. _

"How dare you," he growled, sounding suddenly like the bear-sized dog he had been. "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter—I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us… me and Remus… and James…."

Pettigrew wiped his face again; he was almost panting for breath.

"Me, a spy… must be out of your mind… never… don't know how you can say such a—"

The Fidelius Charm was about to be performed. Sirius was standing, looking very thoughtful.

"Wait!" he said as James raised his wand.

"What? What is it?"

"Look, Voldemort's bound to come after me. What if he gets the secret out of me? You have to switch to someone else. Someone he will never suspect."

"Who?" Lily asked.

"Hmm… How about… Peter?" Sirius said.

"Well, I'd have to agree that he isn't likely to be suspected."

"So we're going with Peter then?" James asked.

"Yes."

"All right." James wrote a short message on a piece of parchment. "We'll owl him."

__

"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan… a bluff…. Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you…. It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."

Pettigrew was muttering distractedly; Harry caught words like "far-fetched" and "lunacy," but he couldn't help paying more attention to the ashen color of Pettigrew's face and the way his eyes continued to dart toward the windows and door.

!!!

"Er—Mr. Black—Sirius?" said Hermione.

Black jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though he had never seen anything quite like her.

"If you don't mind me asking, how—how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"

"Thank you!" gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I—"

But Lupin silenced him with a look. Black was frowning slightly at Hermione, but not as though he were annoyed with her. He seemed to be pondering his answer.

_I didn't think about Sarah, that's what I did. _"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me… but it kept me sane and knowing who I am… helped me keep my powers… so when it all became… too much… I could transform in my cell… become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know…." He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions…. They could tell that my feelings were less—less human, less complex when I was a dog… but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand….

"But then I saw Peter in that picture… I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry… perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again…."

Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as though hypnotized.

"…ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies… and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors….

"So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive…."

Harry remembered what Mr. Weasley had told Mrs. Weasley. "The guards say he's been talking in his sleep… always the same words… '_He's at Hogwarts._'"

"It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it…. It wasn't a happy feeling… it was an obsession… but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog…. It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused…. I was thin, very thin… thin enough to slip through the bars…. I swam as a dog back to the mainland…. I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry…." _James was one of the best flyers I've ever seen._

He looked at Harry, who did not look away.

"Believe me," croaked Black. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them." _Prongs was the best friend I ever had. _

And at long last, Harry believed him. Throat too tight to speak, he nodded.

"No!"

Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.

"Sirius—it's me… it's Peter… your friend… you wouldn't…"

Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," said Black. _I always knew there was a reason why he became a rat, of all things._

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this… wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.

"Forgive me, Remus," said Black. _I had to careful. I had to make sure they were safe._

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Lupin, who was now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing _you_ were the spy?"

"Of course," said Black, and the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeve. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," said Lupin grimly.

!!!

[Meanwhile…]

**Well, I didn't want them to become _killers_.**

**I don't think I can watch this,** Lily said.

**You're dead. What are you going to do, Lily, throw up?**

**I'd slap you right now if I could.**

!!! 

Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Harry.

"Harry… Harry… you look just like your father… just like him…."

_He's the reason Harry doesn't have any parents._ "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" roared Black. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"

"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed…. James would have understood, Harry… he would have shown me mercy…."

Both Black and Lupin strode forward, seized Pettigrew's shoulders, and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," said Black, who was shaking too. _He betrayed them. _"Do you deny it?"

Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch, like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor.

"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord… you have no idea… he has weapons you can't imagine…. I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen…. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me—"

_No, it's not true. He's just trying to save himself. _"DON'T LIE!" bellowed Black. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"

"He—he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "Wh—what was there to be gained by refusing him?"

_That's no excuse for what he did!_ "What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

Black and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.

"You should have realized," said Lupin quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter." _It's time._

Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall.

"NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front of Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."

Black and Lupin both looked staggered. _Why not?_

"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Black snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."

"I know," Harry panted. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors…. He can go to Azkaban… but don't kill him."

"Harry!" gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You—thank you—it's more than I deserve—thank you—"

"Get off me," Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because—I don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers—just for you."

!!!

[Meanwhile…]

**I don't think I've ever been more proud of Harry than I am right now, **James said, gazing down fondly at his son.

**Me neither,** Lily replied.** Who would've thought _your_ son could be so responsible?**

**I resent that.**

**Yeah, well I resent being dead, but what are you gonna do?**

!!!

No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black and Lupin were looking at each other. Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands.

"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Black. "But think… think what he did…."

"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does…."

!!!

"You know what this means?" Black said abruptly to Harry as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"

"You're free," said Harry.

"Yes…," said Black. "But I'm also—I don't know if anyone ever told you—I'm your godfather."

"Yeah, I knew that," said Harry.

"Well… your parents appointed me your guardian," said Black stiffly. "If anything happened to them…"

Harry waited. Did Black mean what he thought he meant?

_I know how horrible Lily's relatives can be. _"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle," said Black. "But… well… think about it. Once my name's cleared… if you wanted a… a different home…"

Some sort of explosion took place in the pit of Harry's stomach.

"What—live with you?" he said, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"

"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," said Black quickly. _Maybe they've changed. _"I understand, I just thought I'd—"

"Are you insane?" said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Black's. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"

Black turned right around to look at him; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but Black didn't seem to care. _Sarah and I had a house. If she hasn't decided to be with someone else… Maybe…_

"You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, I mean it!" said Harry.

Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it. _Finally. Everything's going right for once._ The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Harry's parents' wedding.

!!!

Harry could see Lupin's silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.

"Oh, my—" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"

"Run," Black whispered. "Run. Now." _No. Something's going wrong. No. _

But Harry couldn't run. Ron was chained to Pettigrew and Lupin. He leapt forward but Black caught him around the chest and threw him back.

"Leave it to me—RUN!"

There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. _This can't be happening. I can't be changing now! Of all the_— His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's hair was on end again; he was backing away—

As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from Ron and Pettigrew. _I'm sorry, my friend, but I can't let you bite anyone._ They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other—

!!!

"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled.

_What?! No! He can't get away! _Black was bleeding; there were gashes across his muzzle and back, but at Harry's words he scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds.

!!!

The yelping stopped abruptly. As they reached the lakeshore, they saw why—Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.

"_Nooo,_"he moaned. "_Noooo… please…._" _I've waited so long… I finally had a little bit of happiness. It's slipping away. _Sirius realized why the dementors were affecting him. _It's because I'm thinking of Harry. I'm thinking of Harry… and Sarah… _

!!!

"_Alohomora!_"

The window sprang open.

"How—how—?" said Black weakly, staring at the hippogriff. _What's going on? I thought it was all over. _

"Get on—there's not much time," said Harry, gripping Buckbeak firmly on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. "You've got to get out of here—the dementors are coming—Macnair's gone to get them."

Black placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull himself onto the hippogriff behind Hermione. _James never ceases to amaze me. Even his son is great. _

"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Harry, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower—come on!"

The hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring upward again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Harry and Hermione slid off him at once.

"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Harry panted. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."

Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.

"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" croaked Sirius.

"He's going to be okay. He's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. Quick—go—"

But Black was still staring down at Harry. _He barely knows me, yet he's saving my life. _

"How can I ever thank—"

"GO!" Harry and Hermione shouted together.

Black wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.

"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are—truly your father's son, Harry…."

!!!

Lupin's office door was open. He had already packed most of his things. The grindylow's empty tank stood next to his battered old suitcase, which was open and nearly full. Lupin was bending over something on his desk and looked up only when Harry knocked on the door.

"I saw you coming," said Lupin, smiling. He pointed to the parchment he had been poring over. It was the Marauder's Map. _That thing is very useful._

"I just saw Hagrid," said Harry. "And he said you'd resigned. It's not true, is it?"

"I'm afraid it is," said Lupin. He started opening his desk drawers and taking out the contents.

"_Why_?" said Harry. "The Ministry of Magic don't think you were helping Sirius, do they?"

Lupin crossed to the door and closed it behind Harry.

"No. Professor Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that I was trying to save your lives." He sighed. _I guess Snape's never going to change. _"That was the final straw for Severus. I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So he—er—_accidentally_ let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast."

"You're not leaving just because of that!" said Harry.

Lupin smiled wryly. _He doesn't know too much about the world yet._

"This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents…. They will not want a werewolf teaching their children, Harry. And after last night, I see their point. I could have bitten any of you…. That must never happen again." _This is what I was afraid I would do to Veronica. _

"You're the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!" said Harry. "Don't go!"

Lupin shook his head and didn't speak. _I have to._ He carried on emptying his drawers. Then, while Harry was trying to think of a good argument to make him stay, Lupin said, "From what the headmaster told me this morning, you saved a lot of lives last night, Harry. If I'm proud of anything I've done this year, it's how much you've learned…. Tell me about your Patronus."

"How d'you know about that?" said Harry, distracted.

"What else could have driven the dementors back?"

Harry told Lupin what had happened. When he'd finished, Lupin was smiling again.

"Yes, your father was always a stag when he transformed," he said. "You guessed right… that's why we called him Prongs." _You live on in your son, James. _

Lupin threw his last few books into his case, closed the desk drawers, and turned to look at Harry.

"Here—I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night," he said, handing Harry back the Invisibility Cloak. "And…" He hesitated, then held out the Marauder's Map too. _One more thing of your father's for you to have, Harry._ "I am no longer your teacher, so I don't feel guilty about giving you back this as well. It's no use to me, and I daresay you, Ron, and Hermione will find uses for it."

Harry took the map and grinned.

"You told me Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs would've wanted to lure me out of school… you said they'd have thought it was funny."

"And so we would have," said Lupin, now reaching down to close his case. "I have no hesitation in saying that James would have been highly disappointed if his son had never found any of the secret passages out of the castle."

There was a knock on the door. Harry hastily stuffed the Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak into his pocket.

It was Professor Dumbledore. He didn't look surprised to see Harry there.

"Your carriage is at the gates, Remus," he said.

"Thank you, Headmaster."

Lupin picked up his old suitcase and the empty grindylow tank.

"Well—good-bye, Harry," he said, smiling. "It has been a real pleasure teaching you. I feel sure we'll meet again sometimes. Headmaster, there is no need to see me to the gates, I can manage…."

Harry had the impression that Lupin wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

"Good-bye, then, Remus," said Dumbledore soberly. Lupin shifted the grindylow tank slightly so that he and Dumbledore could shake hands. Then, with a final nod to Harry and a swift smile, Lupin left the office. _Until we meet again, Harry. _

!!!

Sirius looked at Buckbeak. His thoughts wandered to the flying motorcycle he used to have. _I wonder what happened to it._

Then he started thinking about his fiancée. _Sarah. I really want to see her. I wonder if she's moved on. _

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Okay, this took me forever to type, so nobody say it's stupid or anything, okay? Thank you. Thanks for the reviews, too. I really didn't expect so many for one chapter… I really can't remember what I was going to say, so uh… just review, then, I guess. Dang, this chapter was long…


	22. Reunited

Author's Note: Well, thanks for all the reviews… There'll be at least one more chapter after this, if I can get a hold of the 4th book… Why do I keep forgetting what I'm going to say?

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

= begin flashback

= end flashback

[…] = time

_italics _= emphasis

_italics _= thoughts

-Reunited-

[Summer before Harry's 4th year]

It was midnight. Sarah was asleep in her bed.

Sirius was outside the house, wondering whether or not to make his presence known. He walked around and noticed something shiny. _My motorcycle. She kept it,_ he thought, smiling fondly.

He smiled. Then he took a deep breath and looked in the window. _She's alone. _He Apparated into the room. _I haven't done that in a long time. _

Sirius looked at the sleeping blonde. _God, she's still so beautiful. _

!!!

Sarah heard a noise and woke up. _What? _She was half-asleep, though, so she wasn't entirely sure what was going on. "Sirius?" she said quietly, disbelieving. _It's him, but it's not him. He looks so different… But it has to be him. It has to._

The man in the room went over to her and didn't say anything, for fear of ruining the moment. He saw how sleepy and unfocused she was and knew that she wouldn't remember anything in the morning. She would think it was just a dream.

Sarah closed her eyes and mumbled, "I love you," before falling back into the most peaceful slumber she'd had in years.

"I love you too," Sirius whispered. He watched her sleep. He noticed that she wasn't wearing a ring. Then he saw the chain around her neck. Apparently, Sarah had made the ring Sirius had given her into a necklace, because she wasn't really married and didn't want to deceive anyone but still wanted it close to her.

Sirius knew he would have to leave in a few hours. _She looks so peaceful when she's sleeping._

[6th year]

It was a Saturday night. Sirius and Sarah had fallen asleep in the Gryffindor common room, studying for their end of the year exams.

Sirius woke up at about 3:00 in the morning. _Where am I? Oh._ He looked at his girlfriend, who was slumbering in an armchair by the fireplace. _She looks pretty even when she's sleeping. Dang, it's cold._

He knew he wasn't allowed to go to the girls' dorm, and he didn't want to wake Sarah up, so he went to his own room and removed the blankets from his bed.

He went back downstairs. Sarah had fallen off her chair and was half on the floor. Sirius shook his head and picked her up. Instead of putting her back in the chair, he took her over to the couch. Then he covered her up with some blankets.

He watched Sarah sleep until he also fell asleep an hour later.

_I wish I had time to explain things to her, but I don't. I have to get back to Buckbeak. Hopefully Remus will tell her everything she needs to know._

As the sun began to rise, Sirius decided to leave before anyone saw him (although the house was somewhat secluded, he couldn't take that chance). It wouldn't do for someone to link Sarah to him. He kissed Sarah on the forehead and Disapparated.

!!!

[1 hour later]

Sarah woke up and got out of bed. She went into the bathroom to do her daily routine, then came out fully dressed to eat breakfast before going to work.

She saw something on her bedside table. _What's this? _It was a piece of parchment. It had three words on it: "I love you."

She sat down on her bed to support herself, for her knees had turned to jelly. _Oh, my God. Is this what I think it means? _She tried to remember anything that had happened the previous night, anything that would help her figure out where the note came from. _I had a dream… Sirius was here… What if it wasn't a dream? The proof is right here._ _Unless I wrote it in my sleep… But it's not in my handwriting. _Sarah recognized the writing on the piece of parchment. _He _was_ here. _

She just stayed there for a few minutes, unmoving. Then she got up and looked out the window. _Is he still here? Where did he go? He finally came, and I didn't know it. _She sighed, then looked at her watch and realized that she'd better hurry or she'd be late for work.

!!!

That evening, Sarah wrote a letter to a certain werewolf friend of hers. _I have to know what's going on. Is there any chance of Sirius coming to see me again? _

!!!

[The next day]

Remus read the letter that the white owl had delivered to him. He focused on these words:

_What happened that night? I need to know._

The brown-haired man sighed, then started writing a long letter to his friend about the whole messy ordeal.

!!!

[A few hours later]

_He's innocent? I knew it!_ Sarah started dancing around ecstatically. _This is great. Now all we need to do is get the proof. If only Remus hadn't transformed that night… They could have cleared Sirius's name right then and there. Too bad no one will believe us without proof. Damn that Peter._

She decided not to blame her friend for what had happened and imagined life with her love when everything had been cleared up.

!!!

[1 month later]

Remus stood in front of the Anderson residence, unsure of what to do. Veronica had invited him to visit, but he didn't know if he was ready to face the woman he hadn't seen in six and a half years.

In the next minute, none of that mattered, because the door opened anyway.

"Remus. You're here."

"Hi, Gabriel."

"I was just heading to work. It's been a busy week," Gabriel said. He spun around to shout to his wife, "Veronica! He's here!"

"Okay!"

He turned back to Remus. "See ya."

"Bye."

Veronica came to the door. "Bye. Love you."

"Love you too." Gabriel left.

Veronica looked at Remus. "Hi, Remus. Long time, no see."

"Yeah."

They stood there in silence for a few moments.

"Well, are you coming in or—?" She was interrupted by a small figure coming up behind her.

"Mummy, Lily's snoring—" The little boy stopped when he saw the visitor. "Who's that?"

"He's an old friend of mine. His name is Mr. Lupin." She looked at the adult Remus and picked up her son. "This is my son," she said, "Remus."

Remus stared at her. "You named him after me?"

Veronica nodded. "Well, come in then."

!!!

"Sarah told me you had kids. She just happened never to mention their names…"

Veronica laughed. "Really?"

"Yeah."

The dark-haired woman's face became serious. "Speaking of Sarah… She told me about what happened with Sirius."

"Did she?"

"Mm-hmm. When she got your letter, she popped over here as fast as she could to tell me the news."

"How _did_ she know that something had happened involving Padfoot?"

"Well, you do recall that of all of us, Sarah and I were the best at Divination… We both just had a feeling that something was happening that night involving you two. And someone else familiar—I suppose that was Peter?"

"Yeah."

"So he really _was _a rat. I never liked him much… Anyway, I really don't know how we knew, but we did. Maybe it was because we were the closest to you all next to Lily and James."

Remus nodded. "Hmm. So you named your daughter Lily?"

"Yeah."

"Where is she, anyway? I've only seen your son."

"Come on, I'll show you." Veronica led Remus to Lily's room. "There she is." The little girl was asleep.

"She looks like you," Remus said, looking down at the dark-haired little girl.

"She has Gabriel's eyes, though."

"Kind of like the situation with Lily, James, and Harry, don't you think?"

"Yeah."

They left the room. "Sarah tells me you taught at Hogwarts this past year," Veronica said.

"Uh-huh."

"So, what's Harry like now?"

"He's a mixture of both his parents. Looks a lot like James. It's uncanny. He's a good kid. Not snotty or anything."

"That's good."

"The dementors really affected him, though. He kept hearing Lily and James die."

"Their deaths were that horrible?"

"I guess so. Harry kept fainting at first."

"Hmm." Veronica sighed. "Why haven't we seen each other for so long, Remus? I mean, even though I was with Gabriel, we were still friends, weren't we?"

"Yeah, we were. I just… I don't know. I couldn't face you."

Veronica tilted her head. "Why not? Am I that scary?" she said, making a feeble attempt at a joke.

Remus smiled. "No. I guess I just couldn't handle seeing you married to someone else."

"Remus…"

"I know. I was just stupid. I don't know what happened. I just kept putting off visiting you… It was kind of subconscious."

"Oh."

"But I'm okay now."

Veronica smiled. "It's really good to see you again, Remus."

"You too."

"Do you want something to eat? Drink?"

"Sure, why not?"

Veronica and Remus went to the kitchen. She put some food and a drink in front of her guest, then went to get her children to eat breakfast.

"Remus! Come on, it's time for breakfast. Is your sister still asleep?"

"I dunno."

"Well, all right, go to the kitchen and keep Mr. Lupin company until I get there, okay?"

"Okay." The little boy ran into the other room while his mother went to wake up her daughter.

!!!

"Remus!" Veronica exclaimed, entering the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

Both the adult and the five-year-old turned to look at Veronica. She pointed at the younger Remus. "What are _you_ doing?"

He had been climbing on the counter to reach the cabinet where the dishes were. "Nothing."

"Get down from there. How many times have I told you? You're not supposed to climb on the counters."

The little boy just sat down on the counter instead of getting back down on the floor. The grown-up Remus picked him up and took him over to the table. The five-year-old settled on the man's lap as he ate his breakfast.

"Thanks," Veronica said.

"No problem."

A knock was heard at the door. Veronica went to answer it and came back with Sarah.

"Aunt Sarah!" The five-year-old at the table exclaimed. He jumped off Remus's lap and ran to his godmother. "Did you bring me a present?" he asked expectantly.

Sarah smiled. "Not this time. Sorry, kiddo," she said, ruffling his hair.

Remus put on a sad puppy dog face.

"Nuh-uh. Don't even try it, mister." She looked up and saw the man at the table. "Remus! You're here!" she exclaimed, running over to hug her friend.

Remus chuckled. "Hi, Sarah."

"I thought _I_ was Remus," said the little boy behind her.

"I named you after him," Veronica explained to her son.

Sarah had let go of Remus and was now holding Lily. "How's my favorite goddaughter doing?" she asked the giggling three-year-old.

"She has to finish her breakfast."

"Okay, Veronica. Don't have a cow." The blonde woman started spooning the little girl's cereal into her mouth.

"You'd make a great mother," observed Remus. "You're good with kids."

"Thanks, but Sirius is the only father I want for my children, and until we can prove his innocence, I don't see that happening, so…"

"I see."

"Remus—" Sarah began.

"What?" said little Remus.

"Not you, sweetie."

"Oh. Okay."

Sarah grinned. "Veronica, this could get confusing."

"I know. The dreaded two-people-with-the-same-name thing."

"Anyway, you," she said, turning to the adult Remus, "were the last one of us to see Sirius. How was he? What did he look like? Did he ask about me? What—"

Remus interrupted her. "Sarah, slow down. One question at a time, okay?"

Veronica noted that the kids were finished eating. "Come on, you two," she said. "It's time for the grown-ups to talk, okay?" She noticed the disappointed look on her son's face and said, "Remus, you can play with Aunt Sarah later. Go on now. Go play with your sister."

Remus took Lily's hand and led her out of the room.

"They're great kids, Veronica," the adult Remus said, his eyes on the children as they left.

"Thank you, Remus."

The three adults were all seated around the round kitchen table.

"So? What about Sirius?" Sarah asked Remus.

"Azkaban's affected him," he said. "Physically. He didn't look so good when I saw him."

"How did he even manage to get out in the first place?" asked Veronica.

"He said that he just thought about the fact that he was innocent. He didn't think any happy thoughts."

Sarah's breath caught in her throat. "He didn't think about me for twelve years?"

"I guess not, Sarah."

"He didn't ask about me?"

"No," Remus said apologetically. "It was just already so complicated, and we didn't want to confuse Harry any more than we had to…"

"I understand."

"He didn't really have a chance to ask about you, what with me transforming and all… I'm sorry, Sarah. If it wasn't for me, Peter never would have escaped, and Sirius would be with us right now."

"It's not your fault, Remus. You can't help being what you are."

"But I forgot to take my potion."

"Because you were rushing over there to help him. Remus, I don't blame you at all," Sarah reassured him.

"Thank you." Remus continued from where he had left off. "And Snape was trying to send the lot of us to Azkaban."

"I never liked him," Veronica said.

"Neither did I. None of us liked him."

"Snape's not really evil. He just… he was still holding that grudge he had against us when we were at school," Remus replied.

Sarah sighed. "Sirius came to see me. I know he did. He left me a note. And that was the best night's sleep I've had in a long time. The kind of sleep I had before he was sent to prison."

"I don't doubt that he did," Remus said. "He still loves you. If he doesn't, then I'm a purple cow."

Sarah started fingering the chain around her neck. "Have you had any contact with him since then?"

"No. Maybe Harry has, I don't know."

Veronica let out a breath. "This is all just so… insane."

Sarah looked at her. "Yeah. We have the saddest lives ever, you know that? It's not fair. But I guess that's the way life is."

"Don't you just hate that?" Remus spoke up.

The two women managed small smiles.

"Well, does anyone know where Sirius is right now?" Sarah asked.

"No. It's safer that no one knows. If anyone finds out where he is… Or if he wrote someone telling them where he is, and that letter was intercepted, well, that would just be the end of it."

"So it's better that nobody knows," Veronica said.

"I hate this. He's so close, yet so far," Sarah said, looking down at the table. "Just out of reach."

Her friends looked at her sympathetically.

"So what do we do now?" she asked.

"I guess we just wait and see."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: It's getting close to the end… I may or may not decide to go into Harry's 5th year. We'll just have to wait and see. Review! Please? Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this fic.


	23. In Spirit aka Letters

Author's Note: Ha! I'm bringing Lily and James back again for this chapter! Woo hoo! Okay, that was weird… Anyway, I'm glad to say that there will be _at least_ one more chapter and maybe more if I decide to continue into Harry's 5th year.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

[…] = time

_italics_= emphasis

_italics_= thoughts

**bold** = death-speak

-In Spirit a.k.a. Letters-

[Meanwhile…]

**Wow, I still can't believe Veronica has kids.**

**With that Gabriel guy, nonetheless.**

**What do you have against him?**

**He's not Moony.**

**Yes, but Remus decided to end their relationship. Besides, you can't blame Veronica for falling in love with some other guy. That's one thing you can't control. After all, I fell in love with you, didn't I?**

**I'm offended.**

**Oh, stop. I cannot believe you're still a prankster at heart, even after all these years of… non-life.**

**Well…**

**Our friends are really brave.**

**Mm-hmm.**** I hope Sarah finally gets that wedding she wanted.**

**They've really grown up a lot, haven't they, Jimmy?**

**Yeah, and don't call me Jimmy.**

**You're right about one thing. It _is_ ridiculous feeling things when you're not alive.**

**Aha! You see? I _am_ right.**

**For once.**

**Hey!**

**There's one thing I'm glad about, though. **

**What is it, Lils?**

**Lils?**** You never called me that when I was alive.**

**Well, you called me Jimmy.**

**Ugh. Fine, whatever.**

**All right, what are you trying to say?**

**I'm glad I can still feel love for you. And for Harry and our friends.**

**Me too.**

**I'm glad we've been able to watch Harry grow up, even though we're not alive to be there for him.**

**Mm.**

**It's odd how much he looks like you.**

**Yeah.**

!!!

"Veronica? Are you okay?" Sarah asked her friend.

"I don't know… I just have this weird feeling."

"What kind of weird feeling?" asked a concerned Remus.

"It feels… familiar." Veronica suddenly realized what it was. "It feels like Lily and James."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… It's like they're here. You know, in spirit."

"I think I know what you're talking about," Sarah said. "It's like you said after you got married… They're watching over us."

Remus said, "I feel it too. It's a little strange."

The two women just looked at him. "After all we've been through, _this _is the only thing that's strange?" Sarah asked.

Remus laughed softly. "No."

Veronica spoke up. "Do you ever wish… Do you ever wish that our lives had turned out differently?"

"Every day of my life," Sarah said, smiling sadly.

"Me too," said Remus.

"I wish that too. I mean, I'm fine with the way things are. I love Gabriel and the kids, but sometimes… I feel like I would be a lot happier if things were different."

"If only wishes like that could come true," Remus answered.

!!!

[Meanwhile…]

**I wish we could grant wishes,** Lily said to James.

**You wish we could grant wishes? That's a bit redundant, don't you think?**

**Oh, be quiet. You know what I mean.**

**Do I?**

**_James, _**Lily said in a warning tone.

**_Lily,_** James replied mockingly.

**Why did I marry you?**

**Because you love me.**

**Do I?**

**I just said that.**

**That's not funny.**

**Yes, it is.**

**All right, it's kind of funny, but I don't care. What I do care about is how our friends are. I just want them to be happy.**

**You can't do anything about it, Lily. I love you and I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do. You're dead. Deceased. The late Lily Evans Potter. The—**

**All right! I get it. Stop rubbing it in. You're dead, too, you know.**

**Okay, okay. Sorry.**

Lily looked at Veronica's son. **He looks a bit like Remus, don't you think?**

**Yeah. He's like the son Remus and Veronica would have had if they had been together.**

**Hmm.**

**Her daughter, Lily… she reminds me of you.**

**How so?**

**She has an annoying, high-pitched voice.**

**What?**

**Just kidding.**** She's sweet and stubborn at the same time, that's what.**

**Oh.**

**I finally realized why I don't really like Gabriel.**

**Why?**

**Because he doesn't fit in.**** He doesn't seem like the type of person our little "gang" would have been friends with.**

**We were friends with Peter, and look what he did to us. Gabriel's a decent person, at least.**

**Well, yes. But I just…**

**I know. I hoped Veronica would end up with Remus too. But she didn't. We have to accept that. Remus has. Plus, we can't do a thing about it, so why fight it?**

**Because it's in my nature.**** Don't you remember all those fights we had when we were teenagers?**

**I'd rather not relive those horrid incidents…**

!!!

"Aunt Sarah! Don't go!" little Remus begged.

"Remus, hon, I have to. I don't plan on living here," Sarah said to the little boy, smiling apologetically.

"But—"

Veronica said, "Remus. Sarah has to go. She has things to do."

"Yeah."

"I must be taking my leave as well," said the adult Remus.

"I'll be back to visit soon," Sarah was telling Remus and Lily. "Soon, I promise. Bye, you guys."

"Bye," the two children said in unison.

"I'll walk you to the door," Veronica said. "I don't want to scare the kids by having their Aunt Sarah disappear into thin air."

Her guests grinned. "Yeah, we wouldn't want that," Remus said.

The three adults walked to the front door. "You two have to visit again soon, okay?"

"Okay."

"Yeah. Since I already promised the kids, I guess I have to."

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." Veronica hugged Sarah, and then turned to Remus. "It's been really good seeing you again," she said as she embraced him.

"The same to you," he said as she let go.

"Come on, Remus, let's go," Sarah said. "I think I hear the kids coming back for another round of good-byes."

"Then I guess we'd better leave fast," he said jokingly.

Veronica opened the door for them. "Bye, guys. Sarah, I hope you find Sirius again. And Remus, I hope your… condition… doesn't affect you too much."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Bye."

"Bye."

!!!

"So what do we do now?" Remus asked.

"You want to get some dinner?"

"Sure."

"To my house, then."

!!!

"This place is so clean."

"Well, I live alone, and Sirius hasn't been here for a while, so of course it's clean."

Remus smiled, remembering his friend. "Yeah, Padfoot did always seem to make a mess wherever he went."

"You wouldn't believe how much cleaning I had to do after he… was taken."

Remus sensed Sarah's discomfort and decided to change the subject. "So, uh… What kind of food did you have in mind for dinner?"

"I don't know. Whatever. You're a wizard, make it happen."

Remus grinned and took out his wand. In the next few seconds, the table was completely laden with delicious food.

"Jeez."

"Just eat, okay?"

"All right. But I'm kind of afraid to. It looks all fancy and stuff…"

Remus and Sarah sat down to consume their meal.

!!!

"So you _finally_ saw Veronica after all that time," Sarah said. "How do you feel?"

Remus pondered the question for a moment. "I don't know. I thought I wouldn't be able to handle it, but I'm actually okay with it. I think I've finally gotten over her, you know?" He seemed surprised at his own answer.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I still wish things had turned out differently, but I accept the fact that Veronica has a different life now. And her kids are really great. I think… I think that now I can just have her as a friend. A very good friend."

"That's great. So the healing process has finally begun, huh?"

"I guess."

"Took you long enough."

"Hey!"

"What? You broke up with Veronica, oh what, _fifteen_ years ago and you're just now starting to be okay with it? Come on, Remus, that's ridiculous."

"You're the one who's pining away for my dear friend Padfoot."

"Hey, Sirius didn't break up with me, I didn't break up with him, he was sent to prison for _twelve years_ for a crime he didn't commit, and I _still _can't see him—you tell me if I am not justified in this."

"All right, I get it. Your situation wasn't your fault, mine is. Sometimes you're just as stubborn as Lily was."

"That's right, and don't you forget it. Harry's not the only one who got left with a little bit of her spirit."

Remus started shaking with laughter. "That's just so stupid, it's funny."

"Of course it is. I got a little bit of James's spirit in me too."

He started laughing harder. "Do you now?"

"Yup." Sarah tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't do it and started laughing as well.

They finally stopped laughing after a while.

"God, it feels good to laugh again. Really just laugh, you know?" Sarah said to her friend.

"Yeah."

"When we were younger, we used to laugh all the time."

"Of course we did. Hanging out with Padfoot and Prongs all the time… If you were with them for more than five minutes and didn't laugh, people would think you were insane."

"That or a Slytherin."

"Yeah."

"So what are you going to do now? You don't have a job yet."

"I don't know. I'll keep searching for one, but I don't think a lot of people would be willing to hire me."

"I wish I could do something for you."

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I think we're all going to be okay."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when Lily and James died, and all that happened, we thought it was the end of the world. But here we are, older, wiser, and pretty much content with our lives. We're not children anymore. We can handle anything the world throws at us."

"Getting philosophical on me, Remus?"

"A little bit." He grinned. "But seriously, do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yeah. I think I do. I thought everything was over when Sirius was gone, and you thought the end of your relationship with Veronica was the end of everything, but we got through the pain. We live our lives. We get through each day without becoming mentally unstable."

Remus smiled gently. "I'm actually kind of surprised I haven't gone insane."

"I know the feeling."

"Where do you think Sirius is?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know. Hopefully he's somewhere safe."

"I really hope Padfoot is able to come back. I hope we can prove his innocence. Not just for you, but for Harry. Sirius _is_ his godfather, after all. And the Dursleys are not nice people."

"Mm. I want to get to know Harry. You said he was a good kid." Sarah looked past Remus and saw an owl outside her kitchen window. She got up and let it in. She removed the letter from its leg and watched as it flew away.

"What is it? Who's it from?"

"Hold on…" The blonde ripped the letter out of the envelope. She gasped as she quickly read the letter. She looked up at Remus, who looked back at her with an expectant expression on his face.

"Well?"

Sarah handed him the piece of parchment. "It's from Sirius," she said, dazed.

"It is?" Remus took the letter from his friend and started reading it to himself.

_Dear Sarah,_

_I trust Moony's filled you in on the details of what happened with Harry. _

_I came to see you about a month ago. You were half-asleep, so I don't know if you remember. Did you find the note I left you?_

_I can't tell you where I am for obvious reasons. I hope you understand._

_I just wanted to let you know that I am safe, and I really think no one will find me here._

_I really hope you haven't found someone else. I also hope that we will find each other again sometime in the future. _

_I'll write again soon. _

_I love you._

_Sirius_

"He's safe," Sarah breathed.

"That's great," Remus said, smiling.

Sarah plopped down in her seat, her dinner forgotten. "Do you really think he and I will end up together?"

"Yes, I really do."

She turned to look at him, her wavy hair falling into her face. "Thanks. For everything. You've been a great friend to me, and you helped Sirius—"

"No, please," Remus said, holding up a hand to silence her, "After all you did for me when we were younger—keeping my secret—"

Sarah grinned and looked at the table. "Well, the food's getting cold, so…" She started shoveling food into her mouth.

Remus started laughing again. "Maybe you have a little bit of Padfoot in you too."

Sarah nodded and swallowed. "Hey, I'm in love with the man."

!!!

"Well, I should go now," Remus declared an hour later.

"All right. See ya, Remus. Thanks for dinner."

"You're welcome."

"Bye."

"Bye." Remus left.

Sarah sat down and looked at the table that was now empty except for Sirius's letter. She picked it up and read it over and over again. She focused on the last line. _He still loves me. After all this time, he still loves me._

_Well, of course he does,_ another part of her mind said. _Twelve years alone in prison, who's he gonna fall in love with—a dementor_?

!!!

As Sarah climbed into bed, she imagined that Sirius was there with her, making her feel safe. She yawned. _I'll write back to him tomorrow,_ she thought sleepily.

A smile appeared on the pretty blonde's face as she dreamt of the future she would have with the dark-haired man who had the ability to turn into a large black dog.

!!!

[The next day]

Veronica opened up the letter she had received from Sarah. _Sirius always was a good guy, even if he was a bit of a prankster._ She smiled. Sarah's handwriting was shaky, as if she was really excited and on a sugar high.

Veronica wrote a reply to her friend and let Remus and Lily sign it as well. Of course, their signatures were senseless ink scrawls, but Sarah would appreciate it anyway.

She thought for a minute, then got another piece of parchment out to write a letter to Sirius. _He's my friend too, even if we weren't that close._

!!!

Sirius patted Buckbeak and reread Sarah's letter. _She's so understanding__. She accepts me for who I am, and she believes me, even though the rest of the world sees me as a murderer. I guess that's why I fell in love with her._

"What do you think, Buckbeak? Isn't she the greatest?"

The hippogriff stared silently at him with fierce orange eyes.

"That's what I thought," Sirius said. He smiled slightly at his little joke.

!!!

Remus had decided to write to Sirius as well. He bet that his friend was pretty bored with nothing to do since he was in hiding. _It must be pretty boring with no one but a hippogriff for company._

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: I'm just dragging it out, aren't I?


	24. Padfoot

Author's Note: All right, I'm gonna type this up as fast as I can because you guys are kinda rushing me… This chapter has spoilers for the 4th book. All right, Lily and James aren't in this one, because I am having a really bad week, and I don't want to think about what they should say right now… Also, if I had to spend time writing that stuff, it would take even longer for the chapter to get posted.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

[…] = time

_italics _= emphasis

_italics _= thoughts

-Padfoot-

[Harry's 4th year]

Sirius read Harry's letter. _His scar hurt again? What if—? These rumors I've been hearing… I have to make sure he's okay. _

!!!

_Does he think I'm stupid? _Sirius thought, holding his godson's latest letter. _Well, okay, I used to be idiotic at times… That's not the point! I have to make sure he's safe. He probably thinks he's doing me a favor by telling me not to come. _

!!!

_The Triwizard Tournament? Who would want to enter Harry in that? Someone dangerous. Someone who wants to hurt him. Maybe someone trying to return Voldemort to power… Harry should be safe enough with Dumbledore and Moody there. At least for a while._

!!!

[November 22]

"Sirius—how're you doing?"

"Never mind me, how are you?" said Sirius seriously. _He's in mortal danger, and he's asking me how I am? The boy's a little too polite for his own good._

"I'm—" For a second, Harry tried to say "fine" —but he couldn't do it. Before he could stop himself, he was talking more than he'd talked in days—about how no one believed he hadn't entered the tournament of his own free will, how Rita Skeeter had lied about him in the Daily Prophet, how he couldn't walk down a corridor without being sneered at—and about Ron, Ron not believing him, Ron's jealousy…

"…and now Hagrid's just shown me what's coming in the first task, and it's dragons, Sirius, and I'm a goner," he finished desperately.

Sirius looked at him, eyes full of concern, eyes that had not yet lost the look that Azkaban had given them—that deadened, haunted look. _All that is too much for a boy his age to deal with._ He had let Harry talk himself into silence without interruption, but now he said, "Dragons we can deal with, Harry, but we'll get to that in a minute—I haven't got long here… I've broken into a wizarding house to use the fire, but they could be back at any time. There are things I need to warn you about." _Azkaban taught me many things. There are so many things I have to warn him about._

"What?"

"Karkaroff," said Sirius. "Harry, he was a Death Eater. You know what Death Eaters are, don't you?" _So many people could be after him._

"Yes—he—what?"

"He was caught, he was in Azkaban with me, but he got released. I'd bet everything that's why Dumbledore wanted an Auror at Hogwarts this year—to keep an eye on him. Moody caught Karkaroff. Put him into Azkaban in the first place."

"Karkaroff got released?" Harry said slowly—his brain seemed to be struggling to absorb yet another piece of shocking information. "Why did they release him?"

"He did a deal with the Ministry of Magic," said Sirius bitterly. "He said he'd seen the error of his ways, and then he named names… he put a load of other people into Azkaban in his place…. He's not very popular in there, I can tell you. And since he got out, from what I can tell, he's been teaching the Dark Arts to every student who passes through that school of his. So watch out for the Durmstrang champion as well."_ They let _him_ out, but not me. I didn't even get a stinking trial. They gave Karkaroff a trial, and he was found to be a Death Eater. I was innocent, and I didn't even get that far._

!!!

"Listen, I knew Bertha Jorkins," said Sirius grimly. "She was at Hogwarts when I was, a few years above your dad and me. And she was an idiot. Very nosy, but no brains, none at all. It's not a good combination, Harry. I'd say she'd be very easy to lure into a trap." _What does this all mean? There are so many things that don't fit._

!!!

Harry pulled open his bag and handed over the bundle of chicken legs and bread.

"Thanks," said Sirius, opening it, grabbing a drumstick, sitting down on the cave floor, and tearing off a large chunk with his teeth. "I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade; I'd draw attention to myself." _Rats don't really taste that good. Yuck._

He grinned up at Harry, but Harry returned the grin only reluctantly.

"What're you doing here, Sirius?" he said.

_What's he think I'm doing here? Shopping?_ "Fulfilling my duty as a godfather," said Sirius, gnawing on the chicken bone in a very doglike way. "Don't worry about it, I'm pretending to be a lovable stray."

He was still grinning, but seeing the anxiety in Harry's face, said more seriously, "I want to be on the spot. Your last letter… well, let's just say things are getting fishier. I've been stealing the paper every time someone throws one out, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried." _Harry needs to understand just how serious this all is._

!!!

"All these absences of Barty Crouch's… he goes to the trouble of making sure his house-elf saves him a seat at the Quidditch World Cup, but doesn't bother to turn up and watch. He works very hard to reinstate the Triwizard Tournament, and then stops coming to that too…. It's not like Crouch. If he's ever taken a day off work because of illness before this, I'll eat Buckbeak."

"D'you know Crouch, then?" said Harry.

Sirius's face darkened. He suddenly looked as menacing as he had the night when Harry first met him, the night when Harry still believed Sirius to be a murderer. _Crouch was doing his job, but he could have at least given me a chance. No one let me explain what had happened._

"Oh I know Crouch all right," he said quietly. "He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban—without a trial."

!!!

_Harry has to be careful. But he's so much like James. He has a strong spirit. I'm really worried about what's been happening._

!!!

Mrs. Weasley screamed and leapt back from the bed.

"Sirius Black!" she shrieked, pointing at him.

_I guess people are still afraid of me._

"Mum, shut up!" Ron yelled. "It's okay!"

Snape had not yelled or jumped backward, but the look on his face was one of mingled fury and horror.

"Him!" he snarled, staring at Sirius, whose face showed equal dislike. "What is he doing here?"

"He is here at my invitation," said Dumbledore, looking between them, "as are you, Severus. I trust you both. It is time for you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other."

_Trust him? That snake?_

Harry thought Dumbledore was asking for a near miracle. Sirius and Snape were eyeing each other with the utmost loathing.

"I will settle, in the short term," said Dumbledore, with a bite of impatience in his voice, "for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. You are on the same side now. Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth do not stand united, there is no hope for any of us."

_I guess I can't mess with Dumbledore. He's really serious about this._

Very slowly—but still glaring at each other as though each wished the other nothing but ill—Sirius and Snape moved toward each other and shook hands They let go extremely quickly.

"That will do to be going on with," said Dumbledore, stepping between them once more. "Now I have work for each of you. Fudge's attitude, though not unexpected, changes everything. Sirius, I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher—the old crowd. Lie low at Lupin's for a while; I will contact you there."

_The old crowd? That means Sarah and Veronica as well._

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Sorry it's so freaking short, but I did not feel like repeating that insanely long chapter fiasco, so… Anyway, my reasons for not getting this up sooner: 1) These past few days, I've been coming home late for reasons beyond my control, 2) I couldn't find the 4th book until I went back to school, and I posted the last chapter during spring break, 3) Apparently, my dad does not know how to tell time and thinks 9:15 is 10:00… In other words, having to go to bed early because my father is insane, and 4) I was working on my other fanfic. Read it please! It's called _Love and Flashbacks_. Horrible title, pretty good story, I think. Anyway, I PROMISE the next chapter will make you a lot happier with me, okay?

P.S. You know what? I originally wasn't going to write a Sirius/Sarah reunion, but since everyone wants me to and I had a great idea for it, I am.

P.P.S. My friend said I was being mean to Remus… I am not being mean to him… Don't you remember the last chapter? He's _okay_ with it now…


	25. Back at Hogwarts… Again

Author's Note: From now on, this story is an alternate universe. This chapter starts at the end of the summer before Harry's 5th year.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

[…] = time

_italics_= emphasis

-Back at Hogwarts… Again-

Veronica Kent Anderson sat cross-legged on her bed, waiting for her husband to come out of the bathroom. She was in deep thought.

Gabriel finished brushing his teeth and climbed into bed. He noticed his wife looking down at the covers and asked her what was wrong.

She looked at him for a moment, then removed a letter from a drawer of her nightstand and handed it to him. "Read it." She continued to look down, her long dark hair shielding her face. She waited quietly for Gabriel to say something.

"I—I don't understand. What is this? A letter from Sirius Black? How do you know he can be trusted? He's a convicted murderer!"

"He didn't get a trial, so that's not completely true. And I trust Sirius with my life. I _know _him. I know who he was, who he is, and who he will be. He's a good person."

"But what if he's setting you up?"

"He isn't."

"All right. Fine. What do you want from me? Do you want me to go with you?"

"No. I want you—I want you to stay here with the kids." She took a deep breath. "They need at least _one _parent here to take care of them. I'm going to go, and… I don't know if I'm coming back."

"What?"

"Gabriel, what they're planning to do… It's dangerous. I might not survive."

"But—"

She thought of the bonds she had formed with her friends. "I _have_ to go. I owe it to them. I owe it to Lily and James… and Harry."

"Okay. If you want to go, I guess I have to let you. I'm just worried about you. I love you."

Veronica shook her hair out of her face and smiled. "I love you too."

!!!

[The next day]

"Kids, I have to go somewhere for a while."

"Go where? Can we come?"

"Somewhere far away, and no, you can't come. I'm sorry. I'll write you whenever I can—"

"We can't read good, Mummy."

"Your father can read my letters to you. What I'm saying is, I don't know when I'll be back, so I'm saying good-bye."

"We'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. Come here." Veronica crouched down to hug the kids. "I love you." Tears started forming in her eyes.

"Love you."

"Love you."

Gabriel came in as she released them. "Bye."

"Good-bye." Veronica went outside, then Disapparated with tears in her eyes.

!!!

[Meanwhile…]

(AN: Remus has finally got a proper house. Yay!)

"So I guess we're going to have a big reunion, eh?" Remus asked Sirius.

"Yup. Sarah and Veronica should be here any minute."

"It's been so long since we've all been together."

"Yeah." Sirius ran his fingers through his filthy hair. He had been so busy that he had forgotten to clean himself up (AN: He's dirty because he was doing something just before he came to Remus's house.). "You're sure Sarah hasn't found someone else?"

Remus grinned. "Yes, Padfoot. I'm sure. You're the only one for her."

Sirius smiled back. "Okay. You know, Moony, you look old."

"Well, you look dirty."

"Yeah, but my reason's better than yours."

"Hey, is this a private party, or can anyone join?" a female voice behind them asked.

The two men turned around to see a smiling brunette. Sirius stood up and walked around the couch. "Hello, Veronica."

"Hi, Sirius. Good to see you again." Veronica hugged him. "Things just haven't been the same without you." She let go of him.

"Mm. Moony here tells me you're married."

She showed him the ring on her left hand.

"Ah. Gabriel, huh?"

"Yes."

"And you have kids?"

Veronica nodded. "Remus is six now, and Lily's four." She looked at the other man. "Hello, Remus."

"Veronica." He gave her a quick hug. "So how are the kids?"

"Fine. They want to know when Mr. Lupin will be visiting again."

"Tell them I'll visit as soon as I can."

A small _pop!_ was heard and two figures appeared. They were Arabella Figg and Mundungus Fletcher.

Remus, Sirius, and Veronica greeted them.

"Have you got anything to eat, Lupin?" Fletcher asked. "I'm starved."

Remus waved a hand to indicate the kitchen. "There."

"All right. Thanks."

"I'll join you," Figg said. The two walked out of the room.

The three people left in the living room sat down and started talking.

!!!

[30 minutes later]

Sarah Apparated into Remus's house. Sirius stood up. "Sirius!" She ran over and embraced him. "God, I missed you."

"Sarah," Sirius said softly.

"I hope this isn't a dream," Sarah mumbled into Sirius's chest.

"It's not."

"You're here, you're really here."

Sirius didn't reply. He just held her in his arms and closed his eyes, taking her in. He tried to memorize the feel of her, the smell of her.

Sarah pulled away from him. "You don't look so good."

"Well, it's kinda been a rough two years."

The blonde turned to her other friends. "Hey," she greeted them. "Remus, do you have some robes Sirius can borrow?"

He nodded. "In my room. Down that way, second door on your left."

"Okay. And a comb?"

"There should be one in the bathroom. It's connected to the room."

"Thanks." Sarah took hold of Sirius's wrist and pulled him down the hall to Remus's room.

!!!

Sirius had changed (Remus's robes weren't high quality, but they were definitely better than the ones Sirius had been wearing). He sat down next to Sarah on the bed.

She got up and led him to the bathroom. She wet his hair with water from the sink, then proceeded to run a comb through it. "It's longer than it used to be."

Sirius replied, "It's hard to get regular haircuts when people think you're a murderer."

Sarah smiled and put the comb down. "Done," she announced. She started to leave, but Sirius pulled her back. She gave him a puzzled look.

He took both her hands in his. "Sarah, I know it's been a long time," he said, "but we're technically still engaged… Do you still want to—?"

"Yes, Sirius. Of course I still want to marry you."

He smiled. "I love you," he whispered, before leaning down to kiss her. (AN: Maybe I should write Sirius romance fics instead of Lily/James. I seem to be better at writing those, and I tend to focus more on his relationships in my fics. Don't know why…)

!!!

Sarah came back into the living room, grinning. "Remus, do you have any scissors?"

"Kitchen."

The woman ran off to find the scissors.

"She's acting a bit… peculiar, don't you think?" remarked Remus.

Veronica nodded. "Definitely."

"Found 'em," Sarah said as she reentered the room. "By the way, do you know that Mundungus Fletcher and Arabella Figg are in your kitchen?"

Remus smiled and nodded.

"Well, okay. Later." She dashed off to go give Sirius a haircut.

"I don't think she should be running with scissors, especially in that kind of state," Remus remarked.

Veronica laughed. "She's acting like she's sixteen again."

"Hmm. Do you think she's trying to take over my house?"

"What? Why do you ask that?"

"Well, she's borrowed my bedroom, my bathroom, my robes, my comb, and now my scissors. I'm worried she'll want the couch next."

"That's just silly."

"I know. As a former Marauder, I have to make as many jokes as possible—regardless of whether they're good or bad."

!!!

Sarah had removed the engagement ring from the chain around her neck. It was now on her finger.

She started cutting Sirius's hair.

"Sarah, you could just use your wand, you know."

"Yeah, but I want to do it this way."

Sirius sighed.

"There," she said, as she finished. "All done."

He looked in the mirror. "You did a pretty good job."

"Thank you," she replied, bowing. "Okay, come on." She pulled him out of the room.

!!!

"You two _must_ tell us all about Harry. And what Hogwarts is like now," Sarah said to Remus and Sirius.

"All right, well—"

"Dumbledore's sent word," Fletcher announced, entering the room. He handed the letter in his hands to Sirius.

Sirius read the letter, then said to Sarah and Veronica, "I guess you're going to see for yourself."

!!!

The adults entered Snape's Potions classroom, where Dumbledore had told them to meet him.

"Sirius!" Harry exclaimed. "Prof—Mr. Lu—"

"Call me Remus, Harry."

The now fifteen-year-old boy nodded, then turned to the two women standing next to them.

"Harry, this is Sarah," Sirius said, taking the blonde's hand, "my fiancée."

"What?" Harry asked in surprise. "But you've only been gone one summer, how—?"

He held up a hand to silence Harry. "I asked Sarah to marry me a long time ago… At your parents' wedding, as a matter of fact."

"Their—wedding?"

He nodded.

Remus introduced the brunette. "This is Veronica."

"Pleased to meet you."

Snape entered the room. He walked toward the small group in the middle of the room. "Johnson," he said, acknowledging her with a nod of his head. "Kent."

"Anderson."

"What?"

"It's Anderson now, not Kent."

"Everyone used to think it would be Lupin," he sneered. "I can see how well _that_ worked out."

"_Snape_," Sirius growled.

The Potions professor moved away to see who else had come.

Harry looked puzzled. "What did he mean, 'everyone thought it would be Lupin'?" He asked, looking back and forth between Remus and Veronica.

"We dated at Hogwarts," Remus said.

Veronica added, "Sirius proposed to Sarah at your parents' wedding." After a slight pause, she said, "That's also when Remus broke up with me."

"Why?"

"For the same reason I stopped teaching here," the brown-haired man replied.

"Oh."

Ron and Hermione burst into the room. "What happened? Are we late?"

"No, Ron," replied Harry.

The two fifth years rushed over to Harry.

"Who are you?" The red-haired boy asked the two women.

Hermione elbowed him. "That's _rude_."

Veronica laughed. "It's all right. I'm Veronica, and this is Sarah."

"Ron Weasley."

"Hermione Granger."

Sirius looked around the dungeon and indicated Figg and Fletcher. "Mundungus Fletcher and Arabella Figg."

Dumbledore and McGonagall entered the room. The headmaster looked around to see who had come. "The others?"

"They should be here within a few days," Sirius answered him.

"Very well. Sirius, you will have to stay in animal from when you are around the students. I am not sure everyone will be as convinced of your innocence as we are, and I don't want to cause a panic."

Sirius nodded.

!!!

The Sorting was over. Dumbledore got to his feet.

"I have an announcement to make. Witches and wizards will be staying here at Hogwarts during this school year to assist in our fight against Lord Voldemort. Now I'd like to introduce the ones present. Arabella Figg."

She stepped forward.

"Mundungus Fletcher."

He did the same.

"Sarah Johnson. Veronica Anderson. And now, someone most of you know, Remus Lupin."

Remus stepped forward and started to speak. "Most of you know that I am a—a werewolf."

Several first and second years gasped. The rest of the students remained silent.

"I promise that I will not hurt any of you. There is a potion I take that renders me harmless when I transform. I would never try to bite any of you."

"I'll vouch for him," Veronica said.

"So will I," Sarah added.

The dog at the Gryffindor table barked.

"As will I," the headmaster put in. "If any of you see a large black dog wandering around, please pay it no mind." He continued, "I am pleased to announce that Fleur Delacour, formerly of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, will be working here as a teaching assistant, beginning tomorrow." He looked at the faces of the hungry students. "Well, I believe I've kept you waiting long enough," Dumbledore said, "Dig in!"

!!!

"Nice to see you again, Prof—Mr. —"

"Call me Remus, Neville. It's nice to see you again as well."

Neville Longbottom smiled, then headed up to his dorm. That left Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sarah, Veronica, Remus, and a large black dog in the common room.

Veronica looked around. "This place looks pretty much the same as it did when we went to school here."

"Yeah, all these memories are coming back to me," Sarah said, petting Sirius.

Ron asked, "You were Gryffindors too?"

Veronica nodded.

Harry looked at the two women in the room. "You mentioned my parents' wedding earlier. Can you—can you tell me about it?"

"Sure," replied Sarah. She smiled as she remembered it. "Lily was _so_ ready for it."

"James wasn't," Remus remarked. "He was a nervous wreck."

Sirius barked.

"In fact, he was so nervous that at the rehearsal, he completely messed up his lines, and Lily sent flaming squirrels after him," Veronica said.

Remus grinned and added, "One even went up his pants."

Ron and Harry crossed their legs and grimaced.

"Anyway," Sarah said, continuing the story, "Veronica and I were the maids of honor, and Sirius was the best man. Remus gave Lily away."

"When the minister asked if anyone had a reason why they shouldn't be married, Sirius said he did—"

"—but of course, he didn't. He was just joking."

"As always."

"The rest of the ceremony went just fine."

"And then came the reception," Sarah said, remembering. "Sirius gave a toast at dinner."

"Then we danced."

"After a while, Sirius and I got tired, so we went out on the balcony. And… that's when he proposed to me."

"What happened next?" Harry asked eagerly.

Remus and Veronica looked uncomfortable at each other. The dark-haired woman spoke up. "Uh—that's when Remus broke up with me."

"Oh." The three teenagers looked down.

"No, it's—it's okay. I met Gabriel the next year, and, eventually, I—I married him."

"Do you have any children?" Hermione asked out of curiosity.

"Two. Remus is six, and Lily is four."

Sarah checked her watch. "I think it's safe for you to change back to human form, Sirius."

Sirius turned back to his regular self. He put an arm around Sarah and grinned.

Ron asked, "How did Harry's parents get together in the first place?"

The four adults looked at each other.

Sirius began to tell the story. "Everyone knew Lily and James had a thing for each other—"

"—except them, of course—"

"And then at the beginning of our sixth year, they made this bet—"

"Lily bet James that he couldn't—er—_not_ pull a prank for a month, and he bet her that she couldn't pull at least one prank a day for the same amount of time. And four of those had to be heard about by the majority of the school."

"Whoever lost the bet had to be the other's slave the next month."

"If they tied, Lily had to be Sirius's and my slave, while James had to be Veronica and Sarah's," Remus informed the fifteen-year-olds.

Sirius said, "It looked like it was going to be a tie until the last day of the bet. James played a major prank on Lucius Malfoy for calling Lily a Mudblood."

Hermione looked sympathetic, since she had also been called a Mudblood by a Malfoy.

Sarah laughed. "And I won my bet with Sirius about who would win the bet."

Veronica took over the conversation. "The next day, James began doing stuff for Lily. The first thing she ordered him to do was to kiss her."

"Veronica won _that_ bet," Remus put in. "I lost fifteen Galleons."

"Okay, so then when did you guys get together?" Harry asked.

"A few weeks before that."

"There's so much that we don't know."

"Well, that's why we're here," Sarah said. "To tell you everything you need to know."

"It's late. You three should get to bed," Veronica said.

"You sound like my mother," Ron answered.

"Well, I _do_ have kids of my own," she replied. "Now go. You don't want to be late for class tomorrow, do you?"

"No," the three young Gryffindors chorused.

"Goodnight then," Remus said.

"Night."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione went up to bed.

"Let's go. Dumbledore found some rooms for us to stay in."

!!!

"Veronica, are you awake?" Sarah whispered.

"No."

"_Veronica._"

"All right, fine. What is it?"

"Are you scared?"

"About what?"

"This. All of it. Everything that's happening."

"Yes, I am. I'm afraid that I'll never see my family again. Going up against Voldemort… I mean, Lily and James fought him, and look what happened to them."

"I'm scared too, but I can't help feeling that… we're all going to be okay. We're going to lose some people, but…" She didn't finish her sentence.

"We're being psychic again."

"I guess."

"Excuse me, but could you keep it down? I'm trying to sleep over here."

"Sorry, Arabella," Sarah said sheepishly.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Sorry if there are any mistakes. I didn't check it because it's the middle of the night and I think it should be okay.


	26. The Beginning

Author's Note: Heh, I just realized that I messed up Veronica's last name in the last chapter… And no, I did not mean for this chapter name to be the same as the last chapter in _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_, it just happened… somehow…

Title: Role Reversal  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".  
Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.  
Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.  
Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

-- - setting change  
_italics - _ emphasis

-The Beginning-

"'Arry! It is good to see you again!"

"Hello, Fleur," Harry greeted the French girl.

"Hi, Fleur," Ron said, blushing.

Hermione rolled her eyes and said hello to Fleur as well.

"Fleur, since you are going to be here for a while, Professor Dumbledore thought we might as well show you something," Harry told her.

"What is it?"

"Come on."

--

"You can transform now," Harry said to a large black dog.

The animal looked back and forth between Harry and Fleur, then changed back into a man.

The part veela girl stepped back. "Zat is Sirius Black! What—"

"It's okay, Fleur," Ron told her. "He's on our side."

"But—"

"Just trust us," Hermione said. "He's Harry's godfather."

"And my fiancé," Sarah said, approaching the teenagers. "Hi, I'm Sarah. Nice to meet you," she greeted the newcomer.

--

Veronica and Sarah were standing in Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration classroom.

"This place looks exactly the same…" Sarah noted.

"Yeah, it does, doesn't it?"

"McGonagall never was one to change much."

The two women were observing the fifth years in the class. Harry looked up from his work and smiled at them.

"Amazing. He even has James's smile."

--

(AN: Erm, since I couldn't think of anything else, here's a battle! Oh, I have no idea where this battle's taking place. Um… Albania? England? Somewhere in between? Just pick someplace.)

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

"Ah!" Remus dived out of the way as a Death Eater tried to curse him.

"Come on," Sirius said as he dragged him away from the hooded and masked wizard.

Mundungus Fletcher hit two Death Eaters with the same fireball. Sarah shot a bolt of lightning at another one. Arabella Figg was trying to fend off three Death Eaters at once. Other witches and wizards were doing everything they could to fight Voldemort's forces.

"_Crucio!_"

Veronica screamed in pain. "Help!" she managed to get out.

Sarah whirled around, searching wildly for her friend. "Veronica!" She ran to her as fast as she could, throwing all the curses she could think of at the Death Eater. The wizard finally backed off, seeing as he had things growing out of him and things missing…

Remus and Sirius rushed over to help.

"_Crucio!_" Another Death Eater had taken the other's place, and was attempting to perform the Cruciatus Curse on the four.

It didn't hurt Sarah as much as it should have. She had already suffered so much in her life. She was able to fight the curse long enough to administer a spell of her own. (AN: I have no idea if that's possible…)

Sirius didn't feel it quite as strongly as Veronica had. He had also been through a lot of pain in his life, and his many years in Azkaban had made it possible for him to deal with it. He pointed his wand at the Death Eater as well.

Remus was in less pain than Veronica was, but more than Sirius and Sarah were. He tried to raise his wand, but the pain was too great.

The Death Eater stopped the curse when he was hit with the combined force of the two spells.

"Come on! Let's go!" Sirius yelled. The other witches and wizards fought off Voldemort's forces as they made their way off the battlefield. Since they couldn't Disapparate to Hogwarts, they had to get as close to the grounds as possible, then continue traveling some other way.

--

"Sirius! You—are you all right?" Harry asked in concern. He looked at Veronica, who was coughing up blood.

Dumbledore said, "We'd best get her and the others to Madam Pomfrey immediately."

--

"What happened?" Harry asked after the adults had been treated by the school nurse.

"It was a tough battle," Remus said. "We barely got out alive."

"We're just lucky we didn't lose anyone," Sirius replied. "We're going to need all the people we have to win this war."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Yeah, I know, I'm evil for stopping here…


	27. Hungary

Author's Note: Aah!! Someone give me an idea that will actually work! Oh, and would you please stop asking questions about the plot? Everything will be revealed _later_… This has turned into an alternate universe because of the release of _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_…

Title: Role Reversal  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".  
Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.  
Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.  
Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

-- - setting change  
(…) time  
_italics - _ emphasis

-Hungary-

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sirius, and Sarah were visiting Buckbeak, who was being kept pretty well hidden by Hagrid.

After all the bowing was finished, the group started a conversation. "So you and Veronica were my mum's best friends?" Harry asked Sarah.

"Yeah."

He continued eagerly, "So you can tell me all about my parents."

"I suppose so," Sarah answered, glancing at the others.

Sirius, who had been in dog form, changed back into a man. "Harry, your parents were really great people."

"But what made them so great?"

The two adults looked at each other. Sarah smiled. "Not sure exactly. They were just… really… something."

"It doesn't matter," Sirius said, patting the hippogriff's beak. "They were special. No one knows why. All we know is that Voldemort was after them, and apparently, he got them."

"Well, what were they like when they were our age?" Hermione asked.

"Lily was really feisty…"

"Sirius!" Sarah pushed him.

"What? She was!"

"Well, James was kind of an idiot, like this guy over here," the blonde said, poking Sirius, "but he was one of the top students in our year."

"'Arry! 'Arry, where are you?"

"It's Fleur," Ron announced. "Wonder what she wants."

"Let's go see," said Hermione.

Sirius changed into a dog and trotted out after the others.

--

"What is it, Fleur?"

The French girl replied, "Ze professors. Zey want to talk to you. All of you."

"Let's go then," Sarah answered.

--

"Our spies have informed us that Voldemort and his forces are in Hungary and may be trying to take over their Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore told the witches and wizards in the room, his face solemn.

"I take it we're going to Hungary?" Remus asked.

"Yes, but separately. Some of us are still recovering from the last battle, so you will go in groups that I have selected."

"Professor," Harry said hesitantly.

The headmaster turned to look at him. "Yes, Harry?"

"I—I was wondering what we're supposed to do," the young wizard replied, "I mean, we'd like to help." He gestured to Ron and Hermione.

"As would I," Fleur declared.

"Right now, the way you can help most is to stay out of the way," McGonagall said.

"Professor," Veronica said, "They _can _help. Not necessarily in battle, but for reconnaissance and stuff."

Sarah spoke up, "I agree. They could probably help us gather information. They _are_ less conspicuous, after all, since they're smaller than we are. They can hide more easily."

Snape said, "I know these people. They won't be discovered so easily."

"We have to try," Remus replied.

Dumbledore said, "I will allow Harry, Ronald, Hermione, and Fleur to go if they wish. But they will not be permitted to go on any dangerous mission where there will be serious fighting." He turned to the four teenagers. "Do you understand?"

They nodded.

"Very well. I must go make preparations for your departure." He left the room, followed by Snape.

Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall stayed behind to instruct the witches and wizards on some spells and techniques that might be useful while they were in Hungary.

(AN: Well, that was incredibly lame, but my muse seems to have disappeared at the moment and wants to stay stuck to my other fanfic, which you should read by the way, so I can't help how sucky some stuff sounds.)

--

(The next day)

The group was in Hungary. They had gone by Floo powder. None of them noticed another person coming out of the fireplace after them.

Sirius was in animal form, so as not to alarm any Hungarian witches or wizards. The group tried not to look suspicious.

"Where do you reckon they'd be?"

"Don't know. Never been here before."

"Well, I guess we should look for them then."

"Right."

"Okay, the easiest way to do this would be to split up," Sarah declared. "Here are the groups: Harry, Hermione, and Sirius; Remus, Fleur, and Ron; me, Veronica, and Arabella—" She continued naming people until they were all in groups of three.

"Right. Let's get a move on, then."

After deciding when and where to meet, they all headed in different directions.

--

Harry and Hermione followed Sirius, who was trying to act as much like a dog as possible.

"Why do you think they want Hungary?" Harry asked the girl beside him.

"Well, I'm not sure, since I'm more familiar with the history of our country, but—" Hermione was interrupted by a bark from Sirius.

The two teenagers looked in the direction that the dog was trying to draw their attention to. A Death Eater was walking into a small building.

"Let's go," Harry said.

None of them saw the teenage boy following them into the building.

--

"What are they saying?" Harry whispered.

"I don't know," Hermione whispered back. "I can't hear anything from here."

Suddenly, one of the Death Eaters stopped talking and turned in their direction. He motioned to his comrades to be quiet.

He pointed his wand in their direction and said a curse.

Sirius, Harry, and Hermione dived out of the way just in time. The spell hit the person behind them.

Hermione gasped when she saw the person who was now dead. "Oh, my God. Colin."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Review and please read and review _Love and Flashbacks_ and _An Unexpected Love_.


	28. Loss

Author's Note: Well, death is never good…

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics_= emphasis

-Loss-

"We have to get out of here," Harry hissed.

Hermione screamed as a Death Eater blew up a box in front of her. Sirius pulled her out of the way by grabbing the hem of her robes with his teeth (AN: Remember, he's still a dog.).

The three ran, with Harry dragging Colin's body. They stopped when they were a safe distance away from people.

"Oh no," Hermoine said. "I can't believe this. Colin's… _dead_."

Sirius transformed back into himself. "We have to alert the others immediately."

Harry looked at the corpse in front of him. "It's my fault," he said to himself. "It's all my fault." He took out his Invisibility Cloak (AN: I forgot to mention that he had it in the last chapter.) and put it over Colin Creevey's body after saying, "_Mobilicorpus._"

!!!

"What happened?" Sarah asked.

"Colin Creevey followed us. The Death Eaters discovered we were there and tried to kill us. They got Colin instead," Harry replied in a dull voice.

"Okay, this mission is aborted. We're going back to Hogwarts. Round up everyone else."

Sirius, Veronica, and Arabella ran off.

"Come on," Sarah said to Harry and Hermione. "We'll go ahead and inform Dumbledore."

!!!

Professor McGonagall was in shock. "He's dead? You're sure?"

"Yes."

"How did he even get there in the first place?"

"He must have followed us without us noticing."

Dumbledore had a grave expression on his face. "Minerva, please inform the rest of the staff that Mr. Creevey will no longer be with us. When you've finished with that, kindly fetch Dennis Creevey and send him to my office."

McGonagall nodded and left.

The other witches and wizards came out of the fireplace.

"Did you get any information?" the headmaster asked them.

"No much," Sirius replied. "I couldn't hear a lot. All I know is that they're planning an attack on Hungary sometime in November or December."

"Anything else?"

The others shook their heads.

"Very well. I will tell the students about Colin's passing tonight. I must go now." He walked out of the room.

!!!

"I can't believe he's dead," Ron said. "He was annoying, but I never wanted him _dead_."

Hermione looked like she was going to cry.

"It's my fault," said Harry. "It's all my fault."

"What?" Veronica asked. "How is it your fault?"

"He never would have followed us if it hadn't been for me," he explained. "Colin was always following me around, asking questions. Because I'm famous. If it hadn't been for me, he wouldn't have died."

Remus said, "Harry, it's not your fault."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not," Sarah said vehemently. "It is not your fault that you are famous. It's not your fault that Colin looked up to you. It isn't your fault that you're the boy who lived."

"And it's not your fault that your parents died so you could _be_ the boy who lived," Sirius told him. "Living isn't a crime, Harry."

Veronica looked at the teenage boy. "You can't blame yourself for other people's actions. You cannot blame yourself for what's happened. You are not responsible for anyone but yourself."

Harry looked at his friends and the adults around him. "Okay," he said quietly.

!!!

Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement at dinner. "I regret to inform you that Colin Creevey has been killed by Lord Voldemort's forces."

Everyone gasped. Dennis Creevey's eyes were red. He had obviously been crying for a while.

The headmaster continued to speak, telling everyone not to try what Colin had done. "And now," he said, "I would like to tell you about something else. Would the dog at the Gryffindor House table please come up here?"

Sirius trotted up to the front of the staff table. Dumbledore told him to transform, so he did.

The students gasped again.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: All right, I'm ending it here, because my dad is insane… That's where I get it from, I guess…


	29. Revelation

Author's Note: Okay, hmm… Oh! Guess what? I'm talented! Well, not really, but my English teacher read my fanfic and said I was, so yeah…

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics _= emphasis

-Revelation-

"Yes, that's right, I am Sirius Black," Sirius said uncomfortably into the silence that had followed the collective gasp.

Dumbledore said, "I assure you, Sirius Black is not a danger to any of you. He has my complete trust, and I hope that in time, he will have yours as well."

Everyone continued to stare. No one dared to argue with the headmaster, or say anything else, for that matter.

Finally, one timid person stood. "Excuse me, Professor, but what about everything we know about the situation?" Neville asked.

Harry answered him. "It's not true." He spoke louder, so the whole hall could hear him. "It's not true. Sirius hasn't killed anyone. And he has never tried to hurt me."

Ron and Hermione got up to support their friend. Sirius sent his godson a look of gratitude.

!!!

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Ginny demanded of her brother.

Ron replied, "Well, it was this huge big secret thing, and I didn't think we were supposed to tell anyone."

"But I'm your sister!"

Harry said gently, "Ginny, we didn't tell you or anyone else. It would have been dangerous."

"But—"

"It was for the best."

The redhead sighed. "Fine. I'll see you guys tomorrow." She headed up to her dormitory.

Dennis Creevey walked up to Harry, Hermione, and Ron. "You—you saw him die?"

Harry and Hermione looked at him for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"How—how did he die? Was he brave?"

"Yes," Harry answered him. "He was brave. He died like a Gryffindor."

The younger boy smiled weakly, then ran up to his own dorm.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: That completely sucked… Anyway, there will probably be only two more chapters in this story, because it's getting really weird now and I have to end it someday…


	30. War Sucks

Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long. My mind keeps coming up with ideas, but no words to fill them in with.

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics _= emphasis

-War Sucks-

Sarah winced as Madam Pomfrey tended to the wounds she had received from the latest battle. "That hurts."

"Well, it'll hurt more if you don't hold still."

The blonde sighed. "I know."

Remus and Sirius came into the room.

"Did we lose anyone?" Sarah asked immediately.

"Two," Remus said. "Andrews and Carter."

"Oh, God. You know what? War sucks."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed, sitting down as the nurse moved away to see to her other patients.

"If Lily and James were here, Voldemort would be long gone by now."

"Yeah, but they're not. And he's not."

Remus announced, "Dumbledore says the giants are on our side now." He shuddered. "I'd hate to think of what would happen if they weren't."

"What about Hungary?" Sarah asked.

"We have six days to stop them," Sirius replied.

"Then let's go," a voice said. Veronica was standing behind the two men. "I can't wait till this is all over so we can go home."

!!!

"Harry, you are _not_ going."

"But I want to help."

"Then stay here and help the injured. We are not going to risk losing another Potter to Voldemort," Sirius replied.

"And don't you go trying what Colin did. You know what happened to him," Veronica said. (AN: Okay, I know I let Harry go to Hungary that first time, but now it's more dangerous and they've just seen what happened to Colin, so…)

Harry thought for a moment, then smiled and answered, "Fine. I'll stay here."

"Don't even think it, mister," Sarah warned. "We've already confiscated your Invisibility Cloak."

"Yeah," Remus added. "We knew your father, so we're prepared for anything you might try."

Harry sighed. "All right, I'll stay."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"You're not crossing your fingers or anything, are you?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"No." Harry showed them his hands.

!!!

[2 days later]

"Argh! Why can't we find them? We only have four days left!" Sarah shouted in frustration.

"Maybe less," Remus said. "I mean, who's to say they won't change the plan?"

"Moony, quit trying to bring us down," Sirius replied. "We're not feeling so good as it is."

!!!

[3 days later]

"Ah!"

"No!"

Curses were flying all over the place. Witches and wizards were falling. It got so bad that finally both forces had to retreat.

!!!

"How many people did we lose?" Veronica asked.

"Five."

"Even if we win, we'll still lose. A lot of people are going to die in this war. That's the worst kind of defeat."

!!!

[April]

"I'm beginning to think that we're never going to win," Veronica said.

"So am I," Sarah replied. "But we have to believe that we can."

"I just want this whole thing to be over. My kids are growing up, and I'm not there to see them."

"Mm."

"We have the worst lives," Sirius said.

Remus said, "At least we _have_ lives. Some people we knew haven't been so lucky."

!!!

[Harry's 6th year]

"We've been in this colossal war for over a year," Sarah said. "When is it going to end?"

"We're going to defeat him," Sirius replied, "or die trying."

"That's not a very comforting thought, Padfoot," Remus retorted.

!!!

[November]

Veronica started throwing up. Remus patted her on the back.

"All those people," Sarah said, trying not to cry. "Dead. Because of this stupid, stupid war."

"We _have_ to defeat him, and defeat him soon," Sirius said. "Too many people are dying because of this, and it's not right."

!!!

[February]

"How many times have we almost killed ourselves in battle?" Sirius asked.

"Too many to count," Veronica replied.

!!!

[May]

"It's Remus's birthday," Veronica announced. "I should be there. I miss them."

"You write to them," Sarah said, trying to comfort her.

"It's not the same."

"No, it's not. But it's the only thing you can do about it now."

!!!

[Harry's 7th year]

"I hate him. I hate him. I hate Voldemort."

"So do the rest of us."

"I know. He is going to die this year. Once and for all. This stupid war cannot go on any longer."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Sorry about the short sections and stuff. I just had to get everything in there like that for the last chapter. I really want to get to 300 reviews by the end of the story. That's just 14 more! I know I probably don't deserve it for not writing for so long, but well… I don't know. I just want a nice number.


	31. Final Battle aka Role Reversal

Author's Note: Sorry. English project. Need I say more? Oh my gosh, this is the last chapter! It's the end! Say, does anyone else think it's weird that I put the chapter called "The End" before "The Beginning"?

P.S. By the way, I'm not putting any Harry romance in here because I can't decide if I like Harry/Hermione or Ron/Hermione better. Please don't tell me which one you like better in your reviews…

Title: Role Reversal

Rating: PG

Spoilers: There aren't too many spoilers in chapters 1-12. The whole story has some spoilers, but how else do you write a fanfic? The chapter with _major_ spoilers is "Old Friends".

Summary: James and Lily make a bet. Lily has to pull a bunch of pranks and James can't do any.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own _Harry Potter_ or its characters. If you're reading this, you should already know whom it belongs to anyway.

Setting: This story is set in MWPP years. If you don't know what that means, you probably shouldn't be reading this fanfic.

!!! = setting change

_italics_= emphasis

**bold** = death-speak

-Final Battle a.k.a. Role Reversal-

"No. No, no, no. This can't be happening," Sarah whispered to herself. She was crouched on the ground, looking out at the witches and wizards on the battlefield. How could one person who wasn't even really a person anymore cause so much pain and destruction? The number of deaths was getting higher. And not just on her side.

Why was this happening? Sarah wished that she could turn back time and make it so that this war wouldn't have happened. She, her friends, and everyone else would be happier, in theory. Of course, in theory. Always in theory. Technically, there was a way to do it. But she couldn't take the risk that something else important wouldn't happen if she changed history.

Sarah's normally nice, clean hair was now filthy and matted. Her clothes weren't in a much better state. She was going to either start crying or throwing up. She didn't know which, but she knew that she had to wait until this battle was over. She could mourn later. This wasn't the time. And somehow, she knew that this was the final battle.

!!!

Pain. That was the only thing Remus could think of at the moment. How could a single curse make you feel like you wanted to die? Pain. Unbearable pain. Agony.

The Death Eater who had been attacking him was stopped by Veronica. She helped him up. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he said weakly. They moved to a safer place.

"I can't take this anymore. He has to be stopped."

He nodded. "Yeah. But how? Harry's the only one who's ever been able to even weaken him. And he doesn't have Lily's protection anymore."

"If only they were here to help us."

!!!

Sirius was fighting. He could barely think. He was acting on instinct—blocking here, shooting there. He was seeing and hearing, but not comprehending. He had retreated to his most primitive self. The part of him that he had relied on when he had escaped from Azkaban.

He saw a flash of black hair. Familiar hair—the kind of hair that had belonged to someone he had known years ago.

He finally remembered. James. But that wasn't possible. James was dead. So it had to be Harry. What was he doing here? They had forbidden him to come, hadn't they? Oh. Of course. He was _James Potter's _son. Breaking rules came naturally to him.

!!!

Harry looked around. The adults had told him not to come, but he knew that he had to. He had had a weird dream the night before. His mother and father had told him something. He still wasn't quite sure what it was, or what he could do here, but he knew that he had to come.

!!!

Sarah stared fearfully up at Lord Voldemort. He'd destroyed Lily and James. He could definitely kill her. She wanted to scream, to do something other than just lie there on the ground, helpless. _I guess this is the end,_ she thought, as a blinding white light filled her field of vision.

!!!

Harry was doing something strange. A white light was coming out of the end of his wand.

Veronica, Remus, and Sirius ran toward him. Only three people mattered to them at the moment. Everything and everyone else were irrelevant.

What was that? A misty-looking image was forming around the light. Two images, in fact. They looked familiar.

!!!

Voldemort was dead. Harry lowered his wand and stared at the corpse, not believing what had just happened. How? A fully-grown wizard whose name was feared by so many people defeated by a seventeen-year-old boy who wasn't even finished with his education? Impossible. But it had happened. He dropped to his knees.

Sarah crawled over to him. "Harry. Harry," she called, bringing him back to reality.

"What?" he said softly, never taking his eyes off Voldemort's body.

"Thank you. You saved me."

"I killed him."

"Harry—"

"I—I can't believe I killed someone."

"He was evil. He had to be stopped."

Veronica reached them first. "What—what happened? What was that?"

Harry looked at Sarah, then shifted his gaze up to look into Veronica's wondering blue eyes. Remus and Sirius appeared behind her.

"What was that light? I saw a kind of mist. It—it was like looking at a ghost," Sirius said.

"I saw them. They—" Sarah tried to remember. "Lily. James. It was them," she said, looking at each of her friends. "They did it. They gave him the power to defeat Voldemort."

"How?"

"I don't know. I—" Sarah began, then fainted.

!!!

Lily asked, **How****? How did that happen? Did we do that?**

**I don't know,** James replied.

**I can't believe it.**

!!!

Sarah opened her eyes. Sirius was looking down at her. "Hi," she said, looking around and realizing that she was in the hospital wing.

"Hi."

"Where's Harry? Where's everyone else? Veronica? Remus? What—"

"Slow down. They're fine. Everyone else is fine. Everyone who survived, that is," Sirius said solemnly.

"I saw them. Lily and James. They were there. They really were. I could feel them."

"I could too. All of us could."

"Do you know how Harry did it?"

"No. And I don't think we'll ever know."

"I can't believe it's over." Sarah took a breath and began to cry. "Why do people have to die in war? So many people. Good people. People who just wanted to help and do the right thing."

"I don't like it either, but that's the way it is."

The blonde cried silently for a few minutes.

Sirius watched her. "Sarah, remember what I said to you before we came back here?"

"Yeah."

"You still want to?"

"Sirius Black, I have waited almost twenty years to marry you. I'm not going to give up now."

!!!

"You'll be going home then?" Remus asked Veronica.

She smiled. "Yeah."

"Say hello to your family for me."

"I will."

"It's been a long fight."

"Uh-huh. I'm finally going home. I get to see my kids again. I've probably missed so much."

"Yeah, but you being here gave them a chance to do those things."

"I'll miss you," Veronica said. "You have to visit again."

"I will. But not for a while." He smiled. "I promise I will, though." He got up.

She hugged him. "I wish things could have been different."

"So do I," Remus said sadly.

"But they're not, and I have a different life than the one I would have had if we had been together."

"Goodbye, Veronica."

"Bye." She left to say goodbye to Sirius and Sarah.

!!!

[Summer after Harry's 7th year]

Sarah went out onto the porch to where Sirius was sitting on the porch swing. "Hey."

He glanced at her and motioned for her to sit next to him. She sat. They didn't say anything for a while.

Sarah looked at her left hand. She and Sirius had gotten married a month ago. Harry was living with them. Lily had finally gotten her wish. Her son was being taken care of by her best friends.

Sarah leaned on Sirius's shoulder as he put an arm around her. "You know what?"

"What?" The look that had been in the man's eyes ever since he had escaped from Azkaban had finally left him.

"I think… I think we've changed somehow. Reversed our roles."

He sat up straighter and looked at her with interest. "What do you mean?"

She bit her lip. "I don't know. It's just that we used to be so different. Carefree. We didn't really worry about much. But then, Lily and James were killed, and everything changed. You became the so-called traitor. I became depressed. Veronica became a mother. Remus, well, I'm not exactly sure how he changed, but he did."

"I think I understand."

"It's hard to explain."

"Yeah." He smiled. "I love you."

"I know you do." Sarah sighed. "I know things are fine now, but do you think we would have been happier if all of it hadn't happened?"

"I don't know. We'll never know." Sirius leaned down and kissed his wife.

!!!

**Did we do good? Did we make a difference?** James asked.

**Yeah, James,** Lily replied. **We did 'good.' Everything's okay. **

**I love you.**

**I love you.**

THE END

Author's Note: Well, what'd you think? I think I did a pretty good job on this ending. Better than some of my other fics, anyway. Oh, I hate that I had to end it, but it _did _have to end.

BIG THANK YOU TO: Jellybean Oasis, HotchPotch Emily, Satans Little Princess, Gwacella, Lost-Cloud, Madame Mad, Confuzzler, LILRKCHK, sCHEm, thistlemeg, Icebox, Milkyweed, Sirena Oculare, happy2, Caitlin22888, anywhos, Ley, Vash's Girl, Lady Ardnassac, Chaos : Rini, Devonny Stratton, DaughterOfTheDawn, Sierra Sitruc, anonymous sins, sneef22, Aishiteru Duo, Ice Kitten, Bad Gurl1, Razzle Dazzle, Princess Hermione, Simple Confusion, lily evans potter6, Ax/Marco's Andalite Princess1, Ice Princess, Wx3hhfan, LadySiri, SAKURAnTOKYO, Lady Tart, Alana Granger, Dragontiger96, applepie2, Brin1, The-Girl-Who-Lived, DeannaMcMahon, Twistie, WinterD, Rarity88, kristatwen, Tragedy, Ailsa, Sarah Mckatie, Roxical, Say My Name, Puddles2, IcantBELIEVEitsNOTbutter, coolgirl947aol.com, Little Teapot, Blue Yeti, Tootsie Dragon, Aqua Phoenix, Shadowflame, Princess Slytherin, goldapple57 aka. Chibi, Celtic Ember, rinoaJ, Oliverwoodschic, Autumn Amethyst, seduceastranger, IthilElentari, Eressa, tk-chan, Weasley Wizard Wheezes, caRaMeLxANgeL, katoozy, Swimming Angel, Guardian of the Moon, Pequenino, merriam, A.M.bookworm247, Dahlia2, Lisa Meunier, butterflyer, and all the anonymous reviewers!


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